Briton Ferry star Meg Kearle reflects on over a decade at the club
BRITON FERRy, WALES - 02 MARCH 2025: Megan Kearle of Briton Ferry Llansawel arrives for the Genero Adran Premier Championship fixture between Briton Ferry Llansawel Ladies and Cardiff City Women FC at Old Road Welfare Ground in Briton Ferry, Wales. (Pic by Ashley Crowden/FAW)
This season has been a landmark one already for Briton Ferry star Meg Kearle, as she reached 200 appearances for the club.
Against TNS in late September, Kearle reached her double century for the club she’s grown up at.
Kearle celebrated ten years at Ferry last season and ended the campaign with an incredible second place Adran Premier finish alongside her teammates. When asked what the club meant to her, Kearle couldn’t hide how happy she was to be able to call Briton Ferry home.
“It’s hard to sum up what Ferry means to me. To make my 200th appearance was a really proud moment for me, and I wasn’t really expecting the recognition that came with it. It’s crazy to think how quickly the time has gone.
“Last season was my tenth year at the club, and to hit 200 appearances now, it’s been nice to be able to look back on what I’ve done with the club, because when you’re in it you sometimes don’t recognise what you’ve achieved.
“The club and the girls mean so much to me. I love playing here, and I always have done, and I plan to do that as long as I can.”
It’s not just Kearle who has celebrated a milestone this season for Ferry.
Lucy Powell also won her 200th cap, both Ela Roberts and Anya Welch are in their tenth season, Courtney Young now has 150 caps, while Alice Broadley reached her century.
Briton Ferry, as a club, have had a real rollercoaster journey in recent seasons, but to see where the team is now makes everything Kearle and others have been through worth it.
“There are so many girls who have been here for a long time now and we’ve all given absolutely everything for the club. It’s hard to imagine Ferry without those players, and it’s difficult to imagine where the club might be now without them.
“It shows the spirit we’ve got in this team. For people to come here and stay this long shows how special this club is. It’s the Ferry family.
“There are so many of us who have lived through this journey together, so it makes it really special to be able to share those really high moments, like finishing second in the Adran Premier.
“I’m sure I’ve missed out so many other players, but they’ve all contributed to where we are now. Off the pitch too is so important for us. Ross who set the team up is still involved, Simon has been around for years, the backroom staff have always been there, and it genuinely is a family.
“We will always fight for the badge because it means so much to us and it always has done.”
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Rediscovering form
Off the pitch it’s already been a season of celebration in some parts for Kearle, but on it, she is in fine form.
With three goals and six assists, Kearle’s nine goal contributions so far this season only ranks behind Cardiff City’s Mackenzie Olden and Wrexham’s Katie Barker in the Adran Premier.
Having suffered with niggling injuries last season, Kearle is happy to be contributing to the team once again.
“Scoring and assisting is a great feeling obviously, but I’m just happy to help the team as much as I can. My job as an attacker is to contribute to goals, but I am really enjoying my football at the moment.
“I struggled with a few injuries last year as well, but I’m feeling good physically and it’s been nice to repay the faith people have in me. As long as the team is doing well, that’s all I care about.”
Kearle’s current form is reminiscent of her extraordinary 2022-23 season, where she scored 20 and assisted 14 in the Adran South.
The forward admitted that she is feeling like she is returning to those heights in this new Ferry system that Rhys Thomas has implemented.
“I do feel like I am getting back to that stage physically where I was a couple of seasons ago.
“I’m playing in a slightly different position now to where I was back then, and we had a different manager and system too, but I always go out there with the aim of trying to contribute to the team as much as I can.”
One player certainly benefitting from Kearle’s form is striker Jade Crofts.
Crofts herself has six goals to her name this season, and most of the time, they come from Kearle’s assists, and the double centurion is delighted to have someone like Crofts playing alongside her in the front line.
“Jade is a great player, and it’s hard to believe she’s not been with us for over a year yet. It feels like Jade has been here for a number of years. Jade has been massive for us.
“She’s in brilliant form, she’s confident and you can see that in the way she’s been playing lately. It’s not just her goals that’s adding something to this team but it’s her ability to get us up the pitch.
“If we’re defending for large parts of a game, we know we can lump it long and Jade will be there. She is so important to what we’re doing, and I think her, and I are on the same wavelength.
“I know that if I put a ball into an area, she will be there waiting to get onto it. She’s so quick, direct and clinical.”
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Trophy hunting
Having now passed the halfway point in phase one of the Adran Premier, Briton Ferry find themselves knocking on the door of the top four.
Their twelve points puts them level with fourth placed TNS, but they remain in fifth due to a poorer goal difference.
The race for the top four is still wide open and Kearle is optimistic that Ferry can make it two consecutive top four finishes come the league split.
“It’s still really close between so many teams in the table. The league, as it is now, is incredible competitive and anyone can beat anyone on their day. We will always back ourselves to do well and put points on the board, and there is still plenty to play for.
“For us, it’s about picking up as many points as we can and get as much momentum behind us as possible and, hopefully, get into the top four.”
A title race for Rhys Thomas’ side may feel a little out of reach, but silverware is still a target for this team.
Ferry reached the Bute Energy Welsh Cup final in 2023, and there’s still an appetite to get their hands on their first major trophy, according to Kearle.
“We want to finish in those top four places, that is our main objective. At the start of the season, one thing I told the girls is that I would love a cup run and win silverware. If we could win either the Welsh Cup or the Adran Trophy, that would be massive.
“We want to show last season wasn’t just one lucky campaign back in the Prem. We want to push on and establish ourselves as one of the big clubs in the league.”
