Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C.

Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C.

File:Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C.jpg
Full name	Cardiff Metropolitan University Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Archers
Founded	2000 (2000) (as UWIC Inter Cardiff)
Ground	Cyncoed Campus
Capacity	1,620
Manager	Wayne Allison
League	Welsh Premier League
2017–18	6th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Cardiff Metropolitan University Football Club are a Welsh football club, of the Athletic Union of Cardiff Metropolitan University, based in Cyncoed, Cardiff that plays in the Welsh Premier League, having been promoted from Welsh League Division One in 2016. The club badge features the bowman with the words 'I lwyddo, rhaid chwarae' which is translated as 'To succeed, [one] must play'.

History

The team has gone through a series of name changes, mirroring the name changes of the institution it represented. The team was originally known as Cardiff College of Education F.C.. They became South Glamorgan Institute F.C. in 1979; Cardiff Institute of Higher Education F.C. in 1990 and UWIC in 1996. In 2000, Inter Cardiff merged with Cardiff Metropolitan University (UWIC) to form UWIC Inter Cardiff F.C reverting to simply UWIC in 2009. They changed their name again in the summer of 2012 to Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C

Cardiff College made their Welsh Cup debut in 1964, defeating Pembroke Borough 3–2 in their inaugural game and Dunlop Semtex 3–0 in the 3rd round before suffering elimination in round 4 at the hands of Merthyr Tydfil.

Between 1966–67 and 1969–70 Cardiff College of Education reached the final of the Welsh Amateur cup every year, winning the cup on 2 occasions in 1968 and 1969 beating Welshpool and Tonyrefail Welfare respectively.

Whilst the club had enjoyed Amateur Cup success and were now regulars in the Welsh Cup, it wasn’t until the 1972–73 season that the Archers took their place in the Welsh league, finishing a creditable 7th in their first season. The following season the club ended the campaign in 10th place and again reached the final of the Welsh Amateur Cup, losing 2–1 to Whitchurch Alport. The 1974–75 season saw the club promoted to the second tier of Welsh football for the first time following a 2nd place finish behind eventual champions Blaenavon Blues, despite ending the season level on points.

The 1975–76 season saw the club complete a league and FAW Intermediate Cup double, scoring over 100 goals in the process. The promotion meant the club would be playing at the top level of Welsh Football for the first time in its history. Unfortunately, after just 2 seasons in the Welsh League South Premier Division, the 1978–79 season saw the team record just 1 win and its lowest ever points tally to finish bottom of the league.

The following 7 seasons were unremarkable as the club recorded consistent mid-table finishes until the 1986–87 season when the club once again suffered the ignominy of relegation back to the third tier of Welsh football for the first time since 1974. Once again the club struggled and were demoted to the Welsh League Division 3 following the inception of the League of Wales in 1992.

It wasn’t until the 1995–96 season that the club were promoted back to level 3 of the Welsh Pyramid, scoring 104 goal in just 28 league games and without losing a game all season. Back to back promotions were confirmed the following season as the Archers secured a 2nd place finish, 6 points behind champions Bridgend Town.

After 3 seasons in Welsh League Division 1, it was announced that the club would be merging with Inter Cardiff to form a new club, UWIC Inter Cardiff playing in the League of Wales for the 2000–01 season. With only 3 wins and 13 points, the club were relegated after just one season and returned to Welsh League Division 1 where they remained until the 2006–07 campaign which saw the Archers demoted to Division 2.

2009 represented a landmark moment in the history of the club with the appointment of former professional footballer and Welsh international, Christian Edwards as Director of football. Edwards was ably assisted by Professor Robyn Jones, who was part of the Sutton United team that dumped Coventry City out of the FA Cup in 1989. Initially things didn’t start well for the club, who dropped back into Welsh League division 3 due to a Welsh Premier League restructure and the domino effect on the divisions below. Whilst the 2010–11 season ended with a disappointing mid table finish, the club equalled their best Welsh Cup showing by reaching the quarter-finals only to lose 4–0 at the hands of GAP Connah’s Quay.

The 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons saw the club collect back to back championships and start the 2014–15 campaign in Welsh League Division 1. Looking for an unprecedented 3rd successive promotion and a chance to play at the top level of Welsh football, the students came agonisingly close to realising that dream only to lose out cruelly on goal difference to Haverfordwest County, following the West Walians 5–0 defeat of Aberdare Town.

The 2015–16 season began with the Archers as favourites to get promoted and despite being pushed all the way by both Barry and Goytre, promotion was sealed in late April with an emphatic 3–0 victory at Taff’s Well to ensure Capital City representation in the Welsh Premier League for the first time since the 2005–06 season.

The 2016–17 campaign started badly for the students, picking up just one point from their first 6 matches with a goalless draw away to Cefn Druids. Whilst many doubted whether the students could stay in the division, a run of 3 consecutive victories within a week restored confidence and proved the catalyst to not only ensuring survival but qualifying for the end of season Europa League Play-Offs with a 6th place finish. Met faced Carmarthen Town and despite going a goal down early in the second half, a sumptuous lob from Adam Roscrow and an injury time diving header from club record appearance holder Charlie Corsby was enough to see the club through to face Bangor City in the final. Sadly for Met, the dream was shattered when Dean Rittenburg drilled home from 12 yards for the Citizens to give Bangor a 1–0 victory and a passport into the Europa League Qualifying round.

League and cup history

Season	League Contested	Level	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	League Position	Avg. Home Attendance1	Welsh Cup	Welsh League Cup	Leading scorer1
1972–73	Welsh League South Division Two	3	36	19	7	10	85	57	+28	45	7th of 19	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1973–74	Welsh League South Division Two	3	32	11	5	16	56	48	+8	27	10th of 17	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1974–75	Welsh League South Division Two	3	34	27	5	2	112	22	+90	59	2nd of 18 Promoted	??	QR	n/a	unknown ??
1975–76	Welsh League South Division One	2	34	25	4	5	108	22	+86	54	1st of 18 Promoted	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
1976–77	Welsh League South Premier Division	1	34	15	9	10	54	38	+16	39	4th of 18	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1977–78	Welsh League South Premier Division	1	34	11	7	16	48	57	−9	29	13th of 18	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1978–79	Welsh League South Premier Division	1	34	1	7	26	25	88	−63	9	18th of 18 Relegated	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1979–80	Welsh League South Division One	2	34	7	13	14	37	62	−25	27	15th of 18	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1980–81	Welsh League South Division One	2	34	13	13	8	42	45	−3	39	5th of 18	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
1981–82	Welsh League South Division One	2	34	12	8	14	53	53	0	44	9th of 18	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
1982–83	Welsh League South Division One	2	32	16	5	11	71	54	+17	33	12th of 17	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
1983–84	Welsh League South Premier Division	2	36	14	8	14	75	68	+7	50	9th of 19	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1984–85	Welsh League South Premier Division	2	34	12	6	16	54	69	−15	42	10th of 18	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
1985–86	Welsh League South Premier Division	2	34	9	9	16	46	80	−34	36	15th of 18	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
1986–87	Welsh League South Premier Division	2	34	4	5	25	26	98	−72	17	18th of 18 Relegated	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1987–88	Welsh League South Division One	3	34	2	11	21	24	77	−53	17	18th of 18	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1988–89	Welsh League South Division One	3	34	9	6	19	40	74	−34	33	15th of 18	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1989–90	Welsh League South Division One	3	32	9	6	17	40	63	−23	33	14th of 17	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1990–91	Welsh League South Division Two	3	32	11	3	18	40	70	−30	36	12th of 17	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1991–92	Welsh League South Division Two	3	32	7	7	18	41	67	−26	28	14th of 17	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1992–93	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	26	11	6	9	63	49	+14	39	5th of 14	??	QR	n/a	unknown ??
1993–94	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	26	4	6	16	28	72	−44	18	12th of 14	??	n/a	n/a	unknown ??
1994–95	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	30	17	8	5	82	35	+47	55	4th of 16	??	QR	n/a	unknown ??
1995–96	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	28	26	2	0	104	16	+88	80	1st of 15 Promoted	??	n/a	n/a	unknown ??
1996–97	Welsh Football League Division Two	3	30	20	5	5	80	25	+55	65	2nd of 16 Promoted	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1997–98	Welsh Football League Division One	2	36	18	7	11	59	35	+24	61	7th of 19	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
1998–99	Welsh Football League Division One	2	34	15	8	11	49	44	+5	53	5th of 18	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
1999-00	Welsh Football League Division One	2	34	10	8	16	50	82	−32	38	15th of 18	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
2000–01	League of Wales	1	34	3	4	27	26	104	−78	13	18th of 18 Relegated	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
2001–02	Welsh Football League Division One	2	36	23	7	6	81	45	+36	76	3rd of 19	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
2002–03	Welsh Football League Division One	2	34	23	7	4	67	33	+34	76	3rd of 18	??	R4	n/a	unknown ??
2003–04	Welsh Football League Division One	2	34	21	6	7	72	33	+39	69	4th of 18	??	QF	n/a	unknown ??
2004–05	Welsh Football League Division One	2	34	15	6	13	65	49	+16	51	9th of 18	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
2005–06	Welsh Football League Division One	2	34	16	6	12	61	52	+9	54	5th of 18	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
2006–07	Welsh Football League Division One	2	36	9	6	21	46	74	−28	33	16th of 19	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
2007–08	Welsh Football League Division Two	3	34	15	11	8	59	42	+17	56	5th of 18	??	n/a	n/a	unknown ??
2008–09	Welsh Football League Division Two	3	34	14	4	16	76	67	+9	46	10th of 182	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
2009–10	Welsh Football League Division Two	3	34	11	11	12	57	59	−2	44	12th of 18 Relegated3	??	PR	n/a	unknown ??
2010–11	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	34	14	7	13	59	47	+12	49	9th of 18	??	QF	n/a	unknown ??
2011–12	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	28	13	5	10	49	51	−2	44	6th of 154	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
2012–13	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	30	23	3	4	98	41	+57	72	1st of 16 Promoted	??	1Q	n/a	unknown ??
2013–14	Welsh Football League Division Two	3	30	20	6	4	86	24	+62	66	1st of 16 Promoted	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
2014–15	Welsh Football League Division One	2	30	19	6	5	69	32	+37	63	3rd of 16	??	R4	n/a	unknown ??
2015–16	Welsh Football League Division One	2	30	19	5	6	63	26	+37	62	1st of 16 Promoted	??	QF	R1	unknown ??
2016–17	Welsh Premier League	1	32	10	6	16	41	41	0	36	6th of 12	264	R4	R2	unknown ??

¹: League games only
²: Name reverted to UWIC at end of season.
³: Relegated as part of League reorganization
⁴: Name changed to Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C. at end of season.
Last Updated: 10 January 2017

QR = Qualifying Round; R = Round Proper; P = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points;

Honours

League

• Welsh Football League Division One
  • Champions (1975–76)
  • Champions (2015–16)
• Welsh Football League Division Two
  • Champions (2013–14)
  • Runner Up (1974–75)
  • Runner Up (1996–97)
• Welsh Football League Division Three
  • Champions (1995–96)
  • Champions (2012–13)

Cups

• Welsh Amateur Cup
  • Champions 1968
  • Champions1969
  • Champions 1976
  • Runner up 1967
  • Runner Up 1970
  • Runner Up 1974

• Welsh League Cup
  • Runner Up 2018

==Current squad== Squad for 2016/17 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	ENG	Will Fuller
2	DF	WAL	Dylan Rees
3	DF	WAL	Kyle McCarthy
4	DF	ENG	Bradley Woolridge
5	DF	WAL	Emlyn Lewis
6	MF	ENG	Ben Bowler
7	FW	WAL	Eliot Evans
8	MF	WAL	Chris Baker
9	FW	WAL	Adam Roscrow
10	MF	ENG	Charlie Corsby
11	FW	WAL	Will Evans
12	FW	ENG	Dan Spencer
14	DF	ENG	Joel Edwards
15	FW	WAL	Rhys Thomas

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
16	DF	ENG	Guto Williams
17	FW	WAL	Gwion Howell
19	DF	ENG	Aaron James
20	MF	ENG	Matt Neale
21	FW	ENG	Harry Owen
22	FW	ENG	Matt Taylor
23	FW	ENG	Tim Parker
24	FW	WAL	Sam Snaith
25	GK	WAL	Alex Lang
26	DF	ENG	Matt Swindlehurst
28	GK	FIN	Esa Aalto
30	GK	WAL	Dan Evans
33	FW	ENG	TJ Moseley