Penybont aiming to shock Adran South after promotion

Being the new kid in class is never an easy thing, but for Penybont, they are looking to teach the Adran South a lesson.

In the third-tier last season, Bont finished second on goal difference behind Newport City. The Steelwomen, however, failed to acquire the licence needed to compete in the Adran South, and therefore, Penybont were promoted instead.

Captain Maddie Priday admitted the campaign last time out was tough, but that they thoroughly deserved their seat at the second-tier table.

“We deserved to go up, but there’s also a lot to improve on for this season. It was tough at times, but we deserved it.

“We were very unfortunate not to finish first, but at the end of the day, Newport City had the goal difference to go up. However, we felt that we played a brand of football that could enable us to do well this season.

“If anything, we’re a little fortunate not to be in the third tier this season, because you’ve got the likes of Cambrian United, Penydarren in there, and it’s going to be competitive there. We’re out of there now, but we deserved to go up with the football we played and the hard work we put in.”

Hard work is now the name of the game for Penybont, as they try to navigate a tricky league.

For many, including Priday, it will be their first time playing in the Adran Leagues, and while the jump could prove to be difficult, she is taking solace from their preseason performances.

“It’ll be my first time playing in the second tier, however, looking at a couple of our preseason games, I think we will do well.

“The teams playing in this league are really good. You look at the likes of Cascade who have made good signings, it’s not going to be an easy ride at all, but I see no reason why we can’t compete.

“We played Briton Ferry in preseason, and we found ourselves competing with them and finding success, and that’s given us a massive confidence boost.”

There are also plenty of examples of newly promoted teams doing well in the last couple of seasons. You only need to have a glance back to April to see that.

Llanelli Town cemented themselves in mid-table and are in for an improved year now that they’re a semi-pro-outfit. Cwmbran Celtic did even better, as they battled for top spot alongside Briton Ferry.

Bont can take a lot of positives from the performances of others, and Priday wants to try and emulate them.

“It’s really refreshing to see that teams are getting promoted and not being involved in a bottom of the table scrap straight away. It gives us confidence that we can go in there and compete with these teams.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in ourselves too to go and compete, and I see no reason why we can’t compete against these teams who have done well.”

Competing alongside the likes of Celtic and Llanelli is already a difficult task, but when you add in teams like Cascade and Swansea University into the mix, and you start to understand the scale of the task on Penybont’s hands.

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The likes of Katie Richards have proved they can score goals in the third tier, while defender Leah Samuel adds some Adran Premier experience, but the second tier can swallow you whole.

Nonetheless, Priday believes that a competitive second tier is a good thing for Welsh football.

“For the fans watching from the sideline, it’s going to be a very exciting league to watch. Women’s football sometimes does have that misconception of it being a bit boring, but this league is going to be anything but.

“The teams are fairly matched, and everyone wants to get into the Adran Prem. Having these teams in the league will be a great advert for women’s football in Wales, because sometimes you only really hear about Cardiff City or Swansea City.

“To have such a competitive league under them is such a positive.”

Their first game, however, couldn’t be any harder, as Bont welcome recently relegated Pontypridd United to the SDM Glass Stadium.

To many, this opening fixture would be daunting, but Priday is looking forward to the game, and says Penybont could surprise a few.

“We’ve been watching a few preseason games, and with the training we’ve put in, doing extra session, having great coaches around us, we’re really looking forward to that opening game.

“Pontypridd is a big name, and they’ve probably got a little bit of an upper hand after being relegated. They know how to play quality football, but I think with us being the underdog, we have a good chance of coming into the league and doing well.

“You can obviously have easier games than this one as your first, but I’m really excited, the girls are excited, and we should do quite well.”

All in all, there is a lot of excitement in this small part of south Wales. But Penybont are not here to make up the numbers.

This is a team who want to compete, and who have their eyes set on more than just a comfortable finish.

“As captain, I want the girls to improve. Player development is a massive thing for us here at Penybont. Our manager Rhys Thomas spends a lot of time developing the players we’ve got here and looking at how we can improve.

“As a team, a top three finish is a reasonable target. We want to push towards the top of the table, and there’s no reason why we can’t do that. We want to show South Wales what Penybont is all about.”

(Featured Image: Lewis Mitchell/FAW)