This Saturday will see Porthcawl Town of the South Wales Alliance League take on Cymru Premier’s Barry Town in what has been termed the Battle of the Beaches.
The two clubs who are separated by three divisions have been drawn against each other in the FAW Welsh Cup.
We spoke to Town’s manager Tom Warren on the upcoming tie and how he and his side are looking forward to the opportunity of a cup giant killing.
The club are set to face one of the giants of Welsh domestic football and they are looking forward to the challenge.
“I am extremely excited about the prospect of playing Barry Town,” began Warren.
“Given the history and success of the club, it’s a massive challenge for us and one we look forward to as a club.
It will be a proud moment for me personally to manage my home town in such a prestigious cup tie against what will be a very organised and tough opponent.”
His squad are also looking forward to the challenge. The club were delighted when they seen the draw.
“Believe it or not I was parked on the side of the road struggling to get 4G signal so the draw wasn’t quite straightforward with the signal issues but I managed to catch our tie being drawn and my first reaction was to ring the chairman who already knew the draw because of my phone buffering.
“A home draw would have made it perfect, however, to draw such a big club was exactly what we were looking for. The squad were delighted with the draw as it gives them an opportunity to showcase what they are capable of against higher level opposition.”
The draw will see them travel to Jenner Park one of the most famous grounds of domestic Welsh football. Speaking on the experience Tom said
“The experience will be one that the players should cherish. This is the club’s biggest game in 25 years since we last played Aberystwyth in the Welsh Cup. Success in this cup has evaded us ever since but for the players to play in front of a good crowd, in a nice stadium with a nice 3g pitch hopefully they will raise their game.”
Porthcawl have already beaten three other teams on route to this round beating Pencoed Athletic, Cornelly United and Treharris Athletic. When asked about they’re secret to success Tom said
“No real secret. We have a good mix of experience and talented players within our squad. They all want to learn and give 110 percent for the team and Saturday will be no different. Some of the football we have played at times has been superb so there is a lot to come from this group of players.”
With the three league gap between the two clubs, it won’t be easy for them to get past the top division club. When asked about how they plan on achieving a cup giant killing Tom said
“This is a massive task but cup games are one off events and you never know on the day. Barry Town have some quality players in there so we know it will take a gigantic effort from our boys to get a positive result but it is a challenge we look forward to. We want our players to give the best account of themselves and enjoy the moment.”
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