Kilgetty AFC

New kit sponsor, Paul Gorman of Scaffold 2000, is pictured here on the left with the Kilgetty Under 10s team. Also pictured with the proud team, is manager Brian Cullen.

 Kilgetty under 9s carried their consistent form into the Llandysilio 5-a-side tournament on Sunday 19^th August 2007. 

The squad was divided into two teams, Eagles and Panthers and allocated different groups for the pool stage. 

The Eagles were pitted against Clynderwen Stars and Leon FC; whilst the Panthers faced St Clears Dragons and Clarbeston road. 

In their first match the Eagles battled hard against a determined and well organised Clynderwen team to earn a goalless draw. They needed a win against Leon to ensure a place in the semi-finals and went about their business in typical attacking style. Solid defending and good positional play allowed for free flowing movement and the necessary goals were soon netted. A victory by three goals to nil meant that they topped the group. 

Meanwhile the Panthers were living dangerously. Despite dominating possession in their first game against
Clarbeston Road , they lost by two goals to one. They entered their second game in the knowledge that their St Clears opponents had already defeated Clarby by two goals to nil and appeared favourites to top the group. But good teamwork, dogged defence and some fine finishing enabled the Panthers to emerge victorious by two goals to nil. 

Both Kilgetty teams qualified for the semi-finals as group winners. 

The games were played simultaneously. 

The Eagles sharpened their talons and with an entertaining display of passing, tackling and shooting clawed their way to a resounding 6 – 1 win over St Clears. 

The Panthers eased passed a resolute Clynderwen side with sleek passing, fine off the ball running and brutal finishing that ensured a victory by three goals to one. 

The all Kilgetty final was in place. The Eagles, adorned in bright orange bibs and the Panthers wearing the customary Kilgetty yellow, took to the field and over two halves of six minutes pitched battle in a determined effort to win the bragging rights. 

Both teams played structured, entertaining football which vaguely reflected the instructions of the two coaches. Possession ebbed and flowed, neat passing and timely tackles kept the spectators enthralled and when the goals came they were applauded by all. In the end the Eagles edged their feline team mates by four goals to one and deservedly won the competition. 

All players can be proud of their achievement and displayed a quality of team ethic and camaraderie that is to be admired. 

Donovan Griffin was voted player of the tournament and was presented with an individual trophy for his mum to polish! 

Teams were: 

Eagles: Luke Williams, Donovan Griffin, Archie Beaumont-Denning, Matthew Dickinson and James Worrall. 

Panthers: Aaron Ebsworth, Kurtis Marsh, Jacob Owen, Jack Davies and Harry Phillips.Â

 

Rosebush was the venue for Kilgetty under 9’s most recent cup exploits and yet again they came away victorious.

The Rosebush 5 a side football tournament was staged on Saturday 14^th July 2007, but unfortunately due to the recent inclement weather, only teams from Kilgetty and Clarbeston Road fulfilled their commitment. That being said the spectators were treated to a good display of passion and commitment by all players and coaches.

Kilgetty provided two teams, the Panthers and the Eagles, Clarbeston Rd under 8’s fielded an A and B team with Clarbeston Rd under 9’s making up the fifth entry.

The pool stages took the form of a round robin, with the five teams playing each other.

The first match saw Kilgetty Panthers run out comfortable 5 – 0 winners against Clarby under 8’s A.

The second game was a hard fought 1 -1 draw between Kilgetty Eagles and Clarby under 9’s.

In their second games both Kilgetty teams gained 5* victories, the Panthers beating Clarby under 8’s B 5 – 0 and the Eagles beating the A’s 6 -1.

The all Kilgetty affair that followed was, as anticipated a wonderful spectacle to behold. Former teammates pitted against other with no quarter given. Good interplay and solid defending by all players, assisted by the very vocal touchline instructions from both coaches, ensured that the competitive personalities were balanced with a smile and a handshake. The fun element of sport shining through like a beacon. The difference between the teams at the final whistle was the excellent finishing of the Eagles who came out 3 – 0 on top.

The Panthers needed a confidence boost and got it with a solid display that saw them deservedly win their last pool game against Clarby under 9’s 1 – 0.

The Eagles comfortably despatched Clarby under 8’s B with an 8 – 0 routing to send them into the semis on a high.

Both semi finals were played simultaneously. The Eagles pitted against third place Clarby under 9’s and the Panthers taking on fourth place Clarby under 8’s A.

Despite a tentative start the Eagles dominated play and finished 5 -1 winners. In similar style the Panthers, as expected, defeated their opponents by 6 – 0.

The dream final was in place and more Kilgetty silverware was ensured.

The Panther’s were determined to gain revenge for their earlier defeat and worked tirelessly to overcome their adversaries but the Eagles were having none of it.

Greater enthusiasm, extra commitment, stronger tackling, more clinical finishing and the obvious superior tactics employed by their coach provided a resounding 6 – 2 win for the Eagles.

James Worrall was selected as player of the tournament and presented with a personal trophy that was very well deserved.

All in all another team effort by all concerned ensured that the travelling band of faithful players and their families ended with a shield for the club and individual medals/trophies for the boys. Well done!

The respective squads were:

Panthers – Aaron Ebsworth, Harry Phillips, Kurtis Marsh, Ross Scrivens, Jacob Owen and Sean Webb (missing from picture).

Eagles– James Worrall, Daniel Davies, Archie Beaumont Denning, Donovan Griffin, Jack Davies and Matthew Dickinson.

Kilgetty under 9s continued their successful season with a deserved victory at Llanybydder on Saturday 23^rd June 2007.

An early start from the clubhouse did not deter the boys from turning up with their usual enthusiasm and a determination to perform to the best of their ability.  Unsurprisingly the same could not be said for the parents in attendance who had seen the weather forecast, and had prepared for a long day of wet n windy conditions.

Upon arrival, the twelve invited teams were separated into two pools of six, playing matches of 12 minutes duration, with the top two from each pool qualifying for the semi-finals.

Kilgetty’s first three matches against Felinfach, Newcastle Emlyn and Cardigan all -ended as goalless draws despite Kilgetty dominating possession and dealing adequately with the attacking threat against them. In all three games Aaron (and Jake for one game) had very little to do in goal thanks to the strong defensive duo of Matthew and James, who not only stifled any forward runs of the opposition, but were able to push forward and support the hardworking midfield trio of Kurtis, Daniel and Liam.  Good inter play, and off the ball running, created several goal scoring chances for themselves and the lone striker’s position which was rotated between Donovan, Jack and Jake. The frustrations of not being able to score were felt by all, but a solid team ethic ensured that the opposition could not take advantage.

The penultimate pool game against Penparc was a must win for Kilgetty if they were to qualify for the semi – finals. The boys raced out of the blocks and attacked from the whistle.  They closed down the opposition and were first to the ball every time.  Aaron was again fairly redundant, but made his presence known when called upon, Matthew and James were consistently solid in defence, pushing forward at every opportunity.  Liam, Kurtis and Daniel supported by Donovan, Jack and Jake surged goalwards with wave after wave of attack and netted three times.  This result left Kilgetty on six points with a goal difference of +3 and Penparc (who had now completed all their matches) on nine points with a goal difference of +2.

Felinfach had won all of their other pool matches and had qualified in top spot, which meant that Kilgetty needed a win against Aberaeron B in their final game to ensure qualification as pool runners up.

The boys were certainly up for it and again charged forward from the off. Kilgetty were three nil up within five minutes, which enabled coach Brian Cullen to ring the changes by letting the three strikers all play together and rely upon Kurtis, Matthew, James and Aaron to hold it together at the back.  A momentary lapse of concentration allowed Aberaeron to breach the Kilgetty net for the first time.  A quick reply was needed to recapture supremacy and it was duly delivered. The final score 4 – 1 and Kilgetty were through.

The semi-final was against the pool winners of the second group, Aberaeron A who were determined to gain revenge for their B team’s earlier elimination. As expected this contest started slowly with neither team wanting to make the first error. However some frank advice delivered from the touchline of nail biting parents and coach was taken to heart by the players and a more positive approach ensued. Kilgetty pressure led to a spate of corners and with all players pushing up. The ball remained in the Aberaeron area until finally the deadlock was broken. This stung Aberaeron into life but resolute defending by all players ensured that Kilgetty progressed into the final.

With the sun now beating down and the earlier rain a distant memory Kilgetty faced the winners of the other semi-final, Felinfach, against whom they had started the competition. In the knowledge that they had already dominated the previous encounter the boys appeared to have one hand on the trophy, but they still had the business to do and a pre match team talk left them with no illusions as to the task ahead of them.

It was a pleasure to witness individual egos being put aside (well as much as possible) and a team spirit enveloped the boys who all worked tirelessly for each other, determined to fulfil their earlier expectation.  Felinfach showed a commitment equal to Kilgetty’s and ensured that the match flowed from end to end.  Again, despite good opportunities Kilgetty could not reproduce the goal scoring touch but their resolute defending made it difficult for the opposition to break them down.  At the full time whistle the match was goalless, two periods of 4 minutes extra time followed, yet still the sides could not be separated and neither goal was breached.

The final would be settled by penalties. Memories of the recent European U-21 tie between England and Holland became topic of conversation, but the boys were unphased. All the boys volunteered to take a kick, and all were keen to go first, however rules is rules and the first five had to be selected for names to be given to the referee (who would be a coach?). Aaron was given the support of his team mates and with the instruction “go on son be a hero” echoing in his ears stepped into the goal to face the first penalty kick.

Felinfach scored.

Jake had been given the task of going first for Kilgetty and powered the ball into the back of the net.

Felinfach’s second shot went wide of the right hand post.

Matthew walked forward to try and establish an early lead and duly rifled his shot past the Felinfach keeper.

Felinfach’s third was a powerful shot that went straight into the grateful arms of an overjoyed Aaron, the Kilgetty cheers drowned the sound of the thumping hearts beating on the touchline.

Daniel stepped into the breach and confidently despatched his shot into the back of the net.

Felinfach scored with their fourth attempt, leaving the score 3-2 to Kilgetty.

Kurtis had been nominated slot number four and knew that a clean strike would ensure victory. He placed the ball on the spot, looked up, a wry smile towards the keeper, took a couple of steps back and with a thump the ball flew into the net.

Kilgetty had won.

A deserved victory that made the long day and lengthy journey well worth the effort.

Parents and coach were united in their pride of the boys and the effort they had put in as a team, working together to produce the goods on the pitch.

The squad of Aaron Ebsworth, Matthew Dickinson, James Worrall, Kurtis Marsh, Liam Cullen, Daniel Davies, Donovan Griffin, Jake Owen and Jack Davies are all to be congratulated for their part in ensuring another success for the team. 

During the presentation Liam was also awarded a trophy for “Player of the Tournament”. Well done.

A highly committed team effort, superbly honed by manager Brian Cullen, justifiably secured Kilgetty under 9s first trophy of the season.

An entourage of dedicated parents accompanied their boys to the Swansea suburb where they lived and breathed every kick, tackle and save. The inclement weather did not spoil the feast of football on display as Kilgetty pitched their wits against nine other teams from the Swansea district.

The pool stages began with Kilgetty drawn against Garden Village, Dunvant & Three Crosses, Murton Rovers, and Crwtherbert Colts. Three draws and one victory ensured that Kilgetty qualified for the semi-finals as group runners-up.

The semi-final paired Kilgetty against the tournament favourites, Pontardawe Town, who had been unbeaten for three seasons. A tense match flowed from end to end with both teams playing a neat passing game interjected by well timed tackling and inspired goalkeeping saves. The deadlock was broken half way through the second half and Kilgetty deservedly celebrated a victory that took them into the final.

The final, against Llandore Colts, who had narrowly beaten Garden Village on penalties in the other semi, was naturally tense with neither side wanting to make the first mistake. Kilgetty’s enthusiasm and work ethic was a pleasure to witness with all players determined to help each other on the pitch. A well taken goal from a corner saw Kilgetty take the lead, which they held onto until the last minutes when the referee awarded a controversial equaliser to Llandore.

The match entered six minutes of extra time for a golden goal to settle the tie. Kilgetty were the more determined and dominated possession for the two minutes it took to score the all important winner.

Players and parents celebrated the win in style leaping for joy as the excited youngsters beamed with pride. 

The boys fully deserved their win, which ensured that the disappointment they felt when going out at the semi final stage of their own competition two weeks earlier faded into a distant memory.

The team of Aaron Ebsworth, Luke Williams, Matthew Dickinson, Kurtis Marsh, Liam Cullen, Daniel Davies, James Worrell and Jacob Owen are all to be congratulated for fine individual performances but more importantly a terrific team effort.  

Well done boys and a special thank you to Brian for all of his continued hard work.