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Port Talbot Town F.C.

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Full namePort Talbot Town Football Club
Nickname(s)The Steelmen
Founded1901; 123 years ago (1901)
(as Port Talbot Athletic)
GroundVictoria Road, Port Talbot
Capacity6,000 (1,000 seated)[1]
ManagerJonathan Davies[2]
LeagueSouth Wales Alliance Premier
2023–24Ardal SW League, 15th of 16 (relegated)

Port Talbot Town Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl Droed Port Talbot) is a Welsh football club from Port Talbot. It was founded in 1901 as Port Talbot Athletic, one of the first clubs in the country. The club plays in the Ardal SW, and is based at Victoria Road.

History

Formed in 1901, Port Talbot began life as a member of the Swansea Senior League and continued playing following the hiatus due to World War One. Although records are sparse, the club is thought to have played in the Swansea Senior League until 1926, when it became a founder of the Port Talbot and District Association Football League; and to have competed in the Welsh League Division 2 Western from the 1928–29 season onwards under the name Seaside Athletic.

Although the club can trace rather tenuous roots back to 1901, the modern club originated shortly after World War II as Port Talbot Athletic.[3]

The club gained promotion to Division 1 in 1956–57, but was relegated after one season. It regained promotion as Division 2 West champions in 1961–62 but was relegated again after one season. The pattern of promotion and relegation after a year was repeated for the third time when Port Talbot went down at the end of the 1970–71 season.

Port Talbot was promoted into the League of Wales in 2000, and changed its name to Port Talbot Town in 2001. Port Talbot's rivalry with Afan Lido, located less than half a mile away, is considered one of the fiercest in South Wales.

Port Talbot finished third in 2009–10, gaining a berth in the Europa League 2010–11, its first appearance in European Competition. However, the club was vanquished 7–1 on aggregate by Finnish side Turun Palloseura in the first qualifying round, which included a 0–4 thrashing in the home fixture on 8 July 2010 with 676 in attendance.

During the 2015–16 Welsh Premier League season Andy Dyer's Blues make it to the semi-final stage of the Welsh Cup against Airbus, but lost in a 7–0 drubbing.

Weeks later the Football Association of Wales relegated Port Talbot from the Welsh Premier League although the club had finished above the relegation places in tenth spot. The relegation was the consequence of the FWA's decision to refuse Port Talbot a Domestic License on financial grounds. The club appealed the decision but the appeal was rejected. The club then overhauled its internal structure, appointing a new chairman, vice-chairman, secretary and treasurer, and forming a steering committee consisting of both staff and supporters. The wage bill for the 2016–17 was cut massively in order to keep the club financially sustainable. This was done largely by replacing some of the existing squad with players from the Academy.[4]

At the end of the 2018–19 season Port Talbot finished 13th, avoiding relegation by one spot. However the club were refused the FAW Tier 2 certification [5] required to play in the newly formed Cymru South for the 2019–20 season. The appeals body upheld this decision [6] and the club was demoted to the new Tier 3 Welsh Football League Division One.[7] Following the cessation of the 2019–20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Port Talbot achieved promotion back to the Cymru South at the first attempt with a third-place finish on the unweighted points per games method.[8]

Support

Average home attendance for Port Talbot Town matches between 1994 and 2010 was 207, although some attendances at the Victoria Road Stadium have been notably higher, including the 2,640 spectators who watched Port Talbot defeat Football League side Swansea City 2–1 in an FAW Premier Cup quarter final in 2007, during the Swans' run-away promotion year.[9] Also, an estimated 400 supporters travelled to the 2010 Welsh Cup final in Llanelli between Port Talbot and three-time winners Bangor City, won by Bangor 3–2. Port Talbot has become renowned for its vocal following in recent years, if not for its performance on the pitch or in the boardroom.

European record

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2010–11 UEFA Europa League First qualifying round Finland TPS Turku 0–4 1–3 1–7

Records

Current squad

Updated 4 April 2020

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Wales WAL Steffan Rogers
— DF Wales WAL Jake Barrow
— DF Wales WAL JJ Dahlgren
— DF Wales WAL Lewis Davies
— DF Wales WAL Lee Jones
— MF Wales WAL Ben Whiteman
— FW Wales WAL Tito Anderson
— MF Wales WAL Alex Aldrich
— MF Wales WAL Manny Maloney
— MF Wales WAL Jared Lake
— FW Wales WAL Aiden Chappell Smith
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Wales WAL Dylan George
— MF Wales WAL Kirk Mcnally
— DF Wales WAL Callum Thomas
— DF Wales WAL Alex Brayley
— FW Wales WAL Joel Mathhews
— FW Wales WAL Ernest Amoo
— MF Wales WAL Lee Healey
— GK Wales WAL Callum Williamson
— MF Wales WAL Jac Sundale
— FW Wales WAL Charlie Farrell

Current staff

  • Manager: Jonathan Davies Wales
  • Coach: Ben Williams Wales
  • Coach: Craig Money Wales
  • Physio : Richard Cooling Wales

Managers

  • Wales Stephen Llewellyn (1993–1997)
  • Wales David Rees (1997–2000)
  • Wales Simon Dyer (2000–2001)
  • Wales Wayne Goodridge (2001)
  • Wales Vince Lewis (interim) (2001)
  • Wales Mark Jones (2001–2004)
  • Wales Wayne Davies (2004–2007)
  • Wales Tony Pennock (2007)
  • Wales Nicky Tucker (2007–2008)
  • Wales Mark Jones (2008–2012)
  • Wales Scott Young (2012–2014)
  • Wales Jarred Harvey (2014)
  • Northern Ireland Bernard McNally (2014–2015)
  • Wales Andy Dyer (2015–2016)
  • Wales Paul Evans (2016–2018)
  • Wales Cortez Belle (2018)
  • Wales Mark Pike (2018–2021)
  • Northern Ireland Conor Mcgaharan (2021-2022)
  • Wales Jonathan Davies (2022–present)

References

  1. ^ "Welsh Football Ground Guide – Port Talbot Town FC". footballgroundguide.com. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  2. ^ Jones, Harrison (14 June 2022). "Jonathan Davies succeeds Conor McGaharan as Port Talbot manager". Y Clwb Pel-Droed. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Club History". Port Talbot Town Official Website. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  4. ^ "Club History – Port Talbot Town Football Club". Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  5. ^ "FAW Tier 2 First Instance Body Decision - 43 Clubs Successful". Football Association of Wales. 8 May 2019.
  6. ^ "FAW Tier 2 appeals body decisions". Football Association of Wales. 22 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Port Talbot Town relegated to third tier after appeal rejected by FAW". 22 May 2019.
  8. ^ "FAW announce promotions and relegations of football teams". 17 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Football:Bring on the Semi". Wales Online. 18 January 2007. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
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