One year on from their heartbreaking defeat to Wrexham, Briton Ferry finally managed to seal promotion to the Adran Premier, as they defeated Llandudno 4-0.
A brace from Alison Witts coupled with a goal each for Laura-May Walkley and Fleur Jenkins made it a memorable day for Ferry players, staff, and fans.
But what did we learn from the playoff? Here’s four things we learned from the game.
Striking supremo
Last season for Pontypridd United, Alison Witts played 18 times in all competitions, scoring eight, and assisting five. A striker by trade, sometimes, Witts would play as deep as central midfield in the Ponty system, and she departed at the end of last season, joining Briton Ferry.
When you look at her numbers this year, you realise just what Witts is capable of. 19 games, 30 goals, and 15 assists in all competitions. It’s quite simply a stunning record for a player who has found her feet once again. Manager Rhys James was keen to laud Witts for how she’s transformed this team.
“She’s a superstar. When I was speaking to her in the summer, I knew I was going to get a very good player, but not only that, but an amazing character as well. She’s great in the changing room, she’ll tell people how it is, and she’s been absolutely brilliant for this football club.”
Just seeing her record this season proves Witts has so much left in the tank. Now, the forward is going to reacquaint herself with some of the country’s toughest defenders, but for the time being, she’s enjoying celebrating a monumental achievement with her team.
“I’ve fallen back in love with football this season. Just seeing the smile on the girls’ faces at the end, it just means the world. I set my sights on promotion when I joined, and I’d be absolutely gutted if we didn’t do it. But I’ve been able to contribute to the team’s overall success. It’s great to score don’t get me wrong, but this is a team, and we are back where we belong.”
Alison Witts and Stevie Donougher – Falling back in love with football
Dominant defence
For all the plaudits the forward line will get, and rightly so, Ferry’s defence has been nothing short of outstanding.
In their twelve Adran South games and the playoff final, they’ve conceded only five goals. It’s an achievement that’s simply jaw dropping. The famous saying is of course, attack wins you games, but defence wins you championships, and there is that feeling around this Ferry team.
But it’s not just the back line who have performed. Captain Lowri Ridings, who is the beating heart of the defence, praised everyone for their defensive responsibilities, and says the record is a testament to the team as a whole.
“It’s hard to be perfect all season; like I’m not perfect all year round. We knew we were going to concede a couple, but that shouldn’t rattle you, and it certainly didn’t rattle us. It’s a massive credit to our team. Our defence isn’t just the four of us at the back, it starts for Alison at the top. We all just want to work together to try and reach the same goal. It’s helped when you’ve got Courtney Young in goal too because she’s absolutely world class.”
Back in the Big Time
Now, Briton Ferry can look to the future, and what an exciting season they have ahead of them now.
Straight away, there are some eye-catching games that will whet the appetite of many a supporter. Firstly, Ferry will have two games against Wrexham. They’ve played each other three times in total; once at Latham Park and twice at The Rock. Now, Briton Ferry will have a chance of welcoming the Red Dragons to Old Road for the first time, a game which will certainly draw a crowd.
Only six miles separates Swansea and Briton Ferry, and a number of Swansea City players were cheering Ferry on to victory on Sunday afternoon. Those games will be must see matches. The champions Cardiff City will also head west next season.
All in all, the addition of Ferry makes next season’s Adran Premier one of the most competitive ever. I think a lot of moves will happen between all the teams too, and all in all, predicting who finishes where could be an impossible task.
A bigger Adran Prem?
But could the top tier be even more competitive than it already is?
A word has to go to Llandudno. The Adran North champions have had a remarkable season. Won all but one of their games, scored 88 goals, and so many of their players have had brilliant seasons. Stevie Donougher, Maddie Williams, Sofie Owen, Ella Jones, Kelcey Davies, and so many others can look back on a tremendous campaign, but ultimately, they will have another year in the second tier.
Whenever this playoff comes around, questions come up about, could the Adran Premier be a bigger league? You can see the positives and negatives of it, but ultimately, it would really make the top tier a national league.
If you look at the latest iteration of the Adran Prem, we had five southern teams (Cardiff City, Cardiff Met, Swansea City, Barry Town United, Pontypridd United), two northern teams (TNS, Wrexham), and one team in mid-Wales (Aberystwyth Town).
With Ferry replacing Ponty, the league will continue to have five southern teams. The addition of Llandudno would have certainly made the league feel like a Wales-wide one, but it wasn’t to be this year.
As the league continues to grow and develop, I could certainly see it moving up to a ten-team topflight, and that would increase competition and player development tenfold. For now, we stay at eight, but for teams like Llandudno, I firmly believe playoff games will be a thing of the past soon.
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