Aberystwyth Town captain hails team’s resilience after important win
ABERYSTWYTH, WALES - 27TH OCTOBER 2024: Rebecca Mathias of Aberystwyth Town celebrates scoring her sides second goal. Aberystwyth Town v Cardiff City in the Genero Adran Premier at Park Avenue on the 27th October 2024. (Pic by Lewis Mitchell/FAW)
It hasn’t been the easiest of Adran Premier seasons for Aberystwyth Town, but finally, there is a big light at the end of the tunnel.
Coming off the back of a win in their relegation six-pointer against Cardiff Met last weekend, Aber made it two wins from two in the Conference Plate, beating Barry Town 3-1 at Jenner Park.
Captain Rebecca Mathias led her side to another win with a commanding performance at the back and praised the whole squad for their attitude down on the south coast.
“I’m so pleased and proud of the girls for getting over the line today. It was a tense game at 2-1 and Barry pushed us, but that third goal made life a little more comfortable for us towards the end. We’ve put ourselves in a good position now.
“Once you get a bit of momentum and a bit of confidence behind you, it makes all the difference. I think we’ve been struggling to finish chances, but today we created probably more chances than we have done all season, and we scored three of the back of it. I’m really pleased and now we push on.”
What’s been most impressive about Chris Church’s side in recent weeks is their reaction to going behind.
Jasmine Turner had put Barry ahead early, but Aber showed great composure and resilience to bounce back, something Mathias said may not have happened earlier in the season.
“We’ve shown our determination more in phase two. If we had gone behind early, like we did today, early in phase one, the game could have spiralled and we could be down by two, three, or four.
“To turn the season round like we have is a credit to the girls, the coaches, and I’m really happy we could turn it round today.”
Aberystwyth Town on brink of survival after beating Barry Town
This time last season, the Seasiders were in the top four come the league split and were competing well against the likes of Cardiff City and Swansea City.
Those days have, at times, felt like they happened a million years ago. It’s been a tough campaign for those hailing from Park Avenue, and Mathias admitted confidence has been hard to find.
“It’s been really hard this season. Once you’re on a losing streak, it’s hard to find confidence and you find things are going against you a little more down at the bottom.
“The past seasons, I’d say top four has been an overachievement for us. It’s about being realistic about where we are in the league and hopefully, we’ve done enough to stay up.”
But in two weeks’ time, Aberystwyth can put those tricky days behind them and confirm their spot in next season’s Adran Premier.
If the Green and Black Army get a point at home to Barry, and Met to lose to Swansea City, the Archers will be relegated.
Yet, Mathias and her squad aren’t going to rest up. Instead, they will be going all out to ensure the job gets done on home soil.
“It’s important now that we don’t rest on our laurels and think the job is done. Cardiff Met are still capable of making up the gap, but we have to push on and use this confidence now.
“We’ve shown today we’re capable of beating Barry, and now at home, we’re hoping we can do the same. It’ll be nice to get it done and confirm our survival.”
