Aberbargoed Buds went backwards to move forwards – now comes the Welsh Cup test
(Image: Iestyn Derrick)
Three divisions separate Aberbargoed Buds from Cardiff Dracs.
On paper, that gap tells you almost everything about the Welsh Cup tie awaiting the Gwent County League Division One side. Cardiff Dracs play their football in the Cymru South, three tiers above the Buds and, in the hierarchy of Welsh football, seemingly a world away.
For a club that stepped away from the higher levels of the pyramid three years ago, this is another opportunity to show just how far a community can come when it decides to rebuild from the ground up.
When Aberbargoed Town took on the Buds mantle
Aberbargoed Buds were once competing in the Ardal South East, but following a merger, the club were forced into relegation, moving down two divisions.
It was not a retreat from ambition. Quite the opposite. It was a decision to give ambition a proper foundation.
“The decision to merge was about looking at the bigger picture and what could be achieved together,” explained the coaching team of Rob Shorney, Chris Griffiths, Ricky Vaughan and Iwan Vaughan.
“It gave the club and players the opportunity to play more competitive football, test ourselves against stronger opposition and also benefit from better facilities and a bigger overall setup.”
That bigger picture had its roots in a period when Aberbargoed Town had enjoyed considerable success at local level, including a memorable treble. When the previous Buds leadership moved on, the Town committee stepped forward to run the club.
Rather than simply trying to preserve what had existed before, those involved chose to rethink what Aberbargoed football could become.
The merger was about bringing people, resources and ambition together. It was about competitive football, improved facilities and creating a structure capable of supporting a club for the long term.
The decision to start again
There have, inevitably, been bumps along the way.
“There have been periods where things haven’t gone exactly how we would have wanted, but sometimes that’s part of rebuilding something properly,” the coaching team say.
“Rather than looking backwards negatively, we’re trying to look at it as laying the foundations for the future. We’re building something that can hopefully be sustainable for many years rather than looking for quick fixes.”
A recent Welsh Cup victory over Llwydcoed provided perhaps the clearest indication yet that the foundations are starting to hold. Llwydcoed arrived two divisions above Aberbargoed Buds, making the result exactly the kind of cup shock that grassroots football is built upon.
“It was a massive result for everyone connected with the club,” the coaches recall. “Llwydcoed came into the game two divisions above us…
“The biggest thing was the belief it created. It showed the lads that if we work hard, stay together and perform to our ability, we can compete against teams from higher levels.”
Today, Aberbargoed Buds have three senior sides. There is a committed group of players, volunteers and coaches, while work is under way to rebuild the youth structure that was once such an important part of the town’s football identity.
“Today, we’re in a really positive position. We’ve got three senior sides, a strong group of players and people working hard behind the scenes to move the club forward,” said the coaching team.
“We’re also looking at rebuilding our youth structure because Aberbargoed has historically had such a strong youth football presence.”
The ambition is to reconnect the youngest players in the area with their local club and create a route that can take them all the way to the First Team. In doing so, the Buds hope to restore something bigger than a footballing structure: a sense of ownership and belonging.
“Ultimately, we want Aberbargoed Buds to be a club that represents the whole community again — from the youngest players coming through to the First Team — while competing at the highest level we can.”
Building something Aberbargoed can own
It is an ambition that goes beyond the 90 minutes of a Saturday afternoon.
Football survives because people care. Players give up their time. Coaches organise sessions. Volunteers open gates and prepare pitches. Committees keep clubs functioning. Sponsors provide vital support. Families turn up, week after week, and supporters follow their local team through good days and difficult ones.
At Aberbargoed, there is a sense that all of those strands are beginning to pull together.
“There’s a real feeling around the club now that we’re moving in the right direction, and that’s down to the players, coaches, volunteers, committee, sponsors and supporters all pulling in the same direction.”
And so the tie against Cardiff Dracs arrives at precisely the right moment. For Aberbargoed Buds, it is a chance to test the progress being made against a side from three divisions higher, while giving the wider community another reason to gather around its football club.
“It’s exactly the type of game you want to be involved in. Cardiff Dracs are three divisions above us, so there’s no doubt they’ll provide an extremely difficult test,” the coaching team say. “We’ll go out there, enjoy the occasion, compete for every ball and see where it takes us.”
There is no grand promise of a giant-killing. No claim that the league pyramid can be overturned in 90 minutes. Instead, there is a simple belief in the value of the occasion itself.
“Football has always been a big part of communities like Aberbargoed, and we want the Buds to be something that people locally are proud to be associated with,” the coaches say.
“The Welsh Cup gives us an opportunity to put the club in front of people who perhaps haven’t been following us closely. But more importantly, it gives the community a reason to come together and support their local team.”
That may be the most important measure of the Buds’ progress.
Three years ago, stepping down two divisions was a difficult decision. Today, the club is beginning to see why it was necessary.
The road back will not be measured solely in promotions. It will be measured in young players returning, families coming through the gates, volunteers getting involved, and a generation once again seeing Aberbargoed Buds as their club.
The next three to five years, the coaches say, are about becoming something the whole town can believe in.
“Over the next three to five years, we want Aberbargoed Buds to become a club that the whole community can be proud of… Most importantly, we want people in Aberbargoed to feel that the Buds belong to them.”
