Welsh Cup run has provided spark to former WPL side Cwmbran Town says Church
Cwmbran Town manager Nicky Church says their current Welsh Cup run has brought some ‘spark’ back to the club.
The Gwent County League side have had a dramatic fall from grace, having gone from the Welsh Premier League to the fifth tier of Welsh football.
Cwmbran who suffered four relegations in the five years, finishing bottom twice are now though regrouping and last season finished fourth.
But this season, Cwmbran are aiming to go one further by winning promotion. Their Welsh Cup run though has brought them back into the spotlight.
The Cwmbran Town manager said: Although the clubs main priority is to get back into the Welsh League we are really enjoying our run in the cup this season.
“It’s brought a bit of a spark back to the club and everyone that works extremely hard both on and off the pitch deserve it.”
Church was the former manager of another Cwmbran club who enjoyed a good cup run. That was Cwmbran Celtic back in the 2015/2016 season, where they reached the Quarter-Finals of the Welsh Cup. They lost to then Welsh Premier League side Port Talbot Town.
Nicky Church is at it again though. The Crows claimed their first scalp against Tredegar in an entertaining six-goal thriller, winning on penalties.
Their biggest scalp came against Afan Lido in the previous round, beating them 3-2 at Cwmbran Stadium.
The Cwmbran Town boss spoke of his admiration for the fourth oldest competition in world football.
“For me personally, I’ve always enjoyed playing and managing in the Welsh Cup.
It’s a great opportunity for sides to test themselves against the best that Wales has to offer and potentially claim a giant killing.
We’ve seen that already this season in the early rounds of both the north and south regions.”
As former Welsh Premier League champions, Cwmbran Town were used to competing at the top. They were the first ever winners of the League of Wales.
But one thing that escaped them was a Welsh Cup final victory. They have lost in all three of their Welsh Cup finals, with two coming against Barry Town United.
On Saturday, they will face fellow bridesmaids Ton Pentre, who lost in the 1922 Welsh Cup final. Ton Pentre competed in the top flight of Welsh football for four years. This will provide an opportunity for two sides who competed at the top end of the table of the then League of Wales.
Church added: “Ton Pentre are a good side that boast some very good players. I believe their league position is a little false as they have performed really well against teams this season and at times haven’t looked like a side in the bottom half of division one.
Ton Pentre were given a reprieve last season after finishing bottom of Division One. But comfortably reached this stage of the competition, after being Pencoed Athletic.
The Bulldogs won comfortably in their last outing against Taffs Well. But this time, they’ll be making a trip to a ground with the largest single tier in Welsh football.
“They will be organised and very competitive as always and we will need to match that and be at our best.
“Being drawn at home may seem like a slight advantage to some but we aren’t naive enough to think this is will be an easy task.”
(Featured Image: Macauley Morgan – Images may not be reused unless given permission.)
