This weekend will see Abergavenny Town travel to the Rhondda valley to face Ton Pentre in an eagerly anticipated JD Welsh Cup 1st round clash.
The hosts “The Bulldogs” have a proud tradition in cup football and reached the final of the competition back in 1922 losing to Cardiff City in a 2-0 defeat with the game played at Tonypandy.
Ton Pentre and their management team are looking to improve on the last few seasons’ performances in the competition.
“The JD Welsh Cup is a competition that the Bulldogs always look to do well in, however, in recent years the club have been on the wrong end of huge upsets. In recent seasons we have gone out twice to the lowest ranked teams left in the competition – Sully Sports and STM Sports”
The club will be entering this season’s competition with a view to progression and aiming to give the home supporters something to cheer about.
“The club’s management team and squad of players are desperate to progress as far as they can in this season’s competition and all will be determined to overcome Abergavenny Town at Ynys Park.”
Earlier in the season the two teams met in a pre-season fixture which resulted in a win for Ton Pentre, running out 5-0 winners, however the cup can always throw up the unexpected and Ton Pentre are remaining focused on the game this Saturday and giving the visitors Abergavenny the upmost respect ahead of the fixture.
“We are fully aware that Abergavenny will be tough opponents and that they will be up for this cup tie. It has been far too long since the Bulldogs last had a run in the Welsh Cup and we’re hoping that we can progress through a few rounds this season as it’s something our faithful fans desperately want to see.”
Meanwhile the visitors from Monmouthshire are looking forward to the game and delighted to be in the 1st round.
“The club are very excited to be a part of the first round matches of this year’s JD Welsh Cup competition. Following on from our victory in the FAW Trophy last season, it feels like a natural progression and the next big accolade to tick off the list. There’s certainly a dream scenario of an ‘underdog’ team making it to the top of the mountain.”
Its a fantastic reward for Abergavenny Town to be drawn against Ton Pentre as the club has mate fantastic progress in the qualifying rounds to get to this stage
“We have most definitely worked hard and fought some tough on-pitch battles to get to the point we’re at. Both Chepstow Town and Aber Valley were great games as anyone in attendance would tell you. The two games went right down the wire, with Chepstow being beaten on penalties and Aber Valley being felled in extra time – so there was plenty of drama and excitement. It’s sometimes a term that’s overused in football but all of the boys did show incredible character and strength of spirit in those encounters. The result is Saturday’s game against Ton Pentre.”
The visitors are under no illusions of the task facing them this weekend and are fully aware of the pedigree of the club that they will be facing.
“Ton Pentre will be a tough team to face, they are a physically tough team who have played on the bigger stages of Welsh football for a long time and their nickname of the Bulldogs is more than appropriate”
Abergavenny Town certainly won’t be going there without their supporters and will be looking to put up a good display to make amends for the heavy pre-season defeat earlier in the season.
“We are running a coach over to the game and hoping to get a good amount of fans, who are amongst the most loyal and supportive in the league, heading over the Rhondda to support the club. It’s going to be a great day out for everyone and we are obviously going in with the intention of advancing forward but if it all ends Saturday afternoon at Ynys Park, we want everyone to walk away happy with what they’ve seen for the 90 minutes on the pitch.”
The club are preparing tremendously hard for the fixture and will be holding a final training session this week ahead of the big game.
“The boys are in training this week and will continue to put as much effort and commitment in as they would for any game, so that high intensity and high level of work rate won’t be affected. If anything, I’d expect them to come out of the blocks with more hunger after two disappointing league results. “
One thing is for sure, you will certainly receive a warm welcome this weekend at Ton Pentre, so why not head over to the home of the Bulldogs and watch this eagerly anticipated cup clash.
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