RHOS AELWYD INTO FAW TROPHY ROUND 4 AFTER LOCAL DERBY WIN

RHOS AELWYD 2 RHOSTYLLEN 1
FAW TROPHY ROUND 3 @ PONCIAU BANKS
27 OCTOBER 2018 --- 2.30PM

EARLY ACTION SEES RHOSTYLLEN TAKE THE LEAD THROUGH STEPHEN JONES

Last years finalists Rhos Aewyd came from behind to beat neighbours Rhostyllen and progress to round four of The FAW Trophy in this local derby which sees the rivals  just separated by the main A483.  Rhostyllen had taken a first half lead into the break but made the home side fight all the way to secure their passage to the next stage but two quick fire goals secured progress for the home side.
Following last weeks foray to Hawarden the time had arrived to, I think for the first time, cover two teams from the Welsh National League [Wrexham area] even though todays encounter would be in the Trophy.  I've never quite worked out the glorified title added to with the proviso of 'Wrexham area' by the nature of its bracketed reasoning the area around Wrexham supplies the vast majority of its teams who perform at level three of the league structure.
Departure from base station at just before 9.30 would unsurprisingly enough be greeted by a late EMT service and of course all standing to Stockport, passing through the Peak District the first snow of the winter was lying on the ground.  However like last week it did improve from here with a trip to Crewe and a further change to Chester arrival was at 1145 and with three quarters of an hour to wait for the next train I decided to hop on the Arriva service 1 to 'Wrecsam' from outside the station.  For the fantastic price of £5.50 I could travel to Wrexham and out to todays ultimate destination this ticket offered an all of Wales coverage, mind you as a thought many of the outlying villages only have one bus a week!  The journey aloft a nice new double decker commanded some excellent views of the approaching Welsh hills and also allowed me to I-spy the ground of Gresford Athletic of the Cymru Alliance, also passing close by to Offa Athletics home we were soon parked up in Wrexham bus station ahead of time, brilliant.

THE IMPRESSIVE STIWT IN RHOS

Comfort break taken and on standby for the 1245 which would take me right into the village of Rhosllannerchrugog, you thought I was working up to Rhydymwyn, mind you I was sensible enough to purchase a day ticket which avoided the need to ask to the place previously mentioned at the start of this sentence!  With a delay on the 1245 service I opted for one of the 2 services one left to Llangollen and the other to Cefn Mawr it was the latter I caught and by time we passed Rhostyllen all three were traveling in a line and a quick switch on the main road short of Johsntown allowed me to board my original selection and depart in the village a few moments later.

RHOSTYLLEN IN THEIR NEWLY SPONSORED AWAY KIT BY XGAS

If you like your social and industrial history this place is a wow. tight narrow streets, 19th century chapels, former pits, brick works, alongside an early day tram system into Wrexham this place had it all too read up about displayed on many information boards around the village.  Indeed it was very much like many a South Wales pit village except we were in the north.  Chapel and pits oh yes and apparently 150 pubs of which significantly less survive today!  One of the their famous claims of 'Rhos' is that it was the birth place of Miss World, Miss UK and Miss Wales Rosemarie Frankland who claimed all three titles in 1961.
Many of the chapels were of the two tiered variety and just so memorable of their day equally impressive is The Stiwt now a theatre after much local work to retain this listed building which was built and funded by miners 1p a week contributions in the glory days which saw it become a cinema, library, concert hall and billiards hall following its opening in 1926.

THE HIGHLY PLACED STAND AT PONCIAU BANKS IN ALL ITS AUTUMN GLORY

Having had a three quarter of an hour walk around it was a place I definitely would have liked to have spent more time in but it set me off reading up more about this fascinating area.  Rhos, as the locals call it [there's a surprise] is a large village with well sized one way shopping street and is surrounded by communities Ponciau, Johnstown, Pant and Pennycae all who possess a Welsh National League side.  Indeed Rhosllannerchregog have their own team too.  Todays home side Rhos Aelwyd are just on the edge playing at Ponciau Banks, who picked up the latter part of their name after a 1958 merger with Ponciau Aelwyd.

EARLY MATCH ACTION

So I guess the 2 mile journey Rhostyllen made makes this far from their most local derby game potentially, with the home side though winners of the Trophy in 2008 and last years finalists a keen contest was awaited.  This season though form has not favoured either team with the visitors bottom of the table without a win and on zero points and Rhos only on five points but its cup football and form goes out of the window doesn't it?
Having meandered around the village and into Ponciau Park the home of todays hosts this would offer where the ground was based but not the full story.  The park was formerly the site of small outcrop pits that the miners worked to survive during the 1921 and 26 strikes after they were locked out of the pits for refusing to take a pay cut.  In the 1930's the area started its formation into todays recreation area.

ITS DEFINITELY STUCK

High aloft the bank offering a commanding view is a stand with a few rows of wooded bench seating and down below the main pitch which is railed, aided by two dugouts and hard standing on one and a half sides.  To the left of the main stand a top the banking on the Clarke St end of the ground are the changing rooms and snack bar.
No admission and what looked like no programme until at half time I spotted a selection in a holder turned the wrong way around from the snack bar window, what shame these weren't promoted because upon, of course, purchasing one as a visitor it provided an interesting read on the club and surrounding advertisers too.

2-1 FROM THE PENALTY SPOT THANKS TOO IAN HUGHES

Todays teams were gained from referee Mark Bridge son of former Fifa and Football League official of the 70s and 80s Ron Bridges [Deeside], one for us long in the tooth footy fans.  Mark also runs the Welsh Football Alliance Facebook page which is worth a viewing.
A tentative start to the game was probably not helped by the strong wind on a bright day of low sunshine but chilly all the same.  However the visitors shocked Rhos Alewyd when they took the lead with a superb goal on 17 minutes captain Steven Jones firing home a 25 yard free kick to warm up any neutral or visiting fan. The remainder of the half was a spectacle of frustration with lots of effort but little of substance with the home side struggling to make an impression.

SECOND HALF PRESSURE FROM RHOSTYLLEN

After the break how different it all looked by eight minutes in Aelwyd were in the lead.  Within two minutes of the re-start the scores were level Ryan Jenkins saw his shot pushed away and James Haynes was hand to fire home the rebound.  Then on 53 minutes the game was turned on its head when Kurt Prydderch fouled Jamie Rogers in the penalty box it was left to Ian Hughes to fire home from the spot kick.
There was a danger now that Rhos Aelwyd would run away with it and Rogers saw his effort cleared off the line but slowly the visitors got back into the game and if anything while pushing for the equaliser finished the stringer with Prydderch seeing his header also cleared off the line and in the second minute of stoppage time home keeper Connor Keys pulling off an excellent one handed save to deny Kevin Roberts a goal that would have seen the game go to additional thirty minutes.

REF BRIDGES HAS A QUICK WORD BEFORE DELIVERING SECOND HALF ONE LINER OF THE SEASON AWARD

Punch-line of the second half was from a referee Bridge who when being questioned by a home supporter in Royal Mail Jacket about how he could not see the foul he had just given two or three times, the referee responded with 'I can see everything on here mind you [looking at his hand like an envelope] I've had a few letters delivered to the wrong house'!
So a narrow victory from the encounter that never really offered any of the levels of local derby festivities you may have expected, the visitors would count themselves unlucky after a hard working display and for Rhos Aelwyd the dream of going one better than last season in this years Trophy lives on.

ALL TOGETHER NOW GIV US AN R.............

A sharp walk out of the village to the main road in Johnstown saw me back in Wrexham via one of the many Arriva services passing this area in time for the, of course delayed, 1703 train to Chester.  With a short hop to Crewe and back up to Stockport complete it was EMT back to base station which just to keep up consistency ,you know, was late in Stockport and an hour later at base station.
A thoroughly enjoyable trip out these smaller grounds are an acquired taste but added to the football a spot of social and industrial history and you cannot beat a hop like this one.