Hawarden Rangers

Wednesday 23rd May 2018
Welsh National League Premier
Hawarden Rangers 2 Penycae 1 HT: 1-1 Att: 45
Thomas 35, Woods 48 : Kavanagh 2

from Gladstone Playing Fields

This was the last game of the season in the Welsh National League, along with Llay Welfare’s game against Brickfield Rangers. Hawarden (pronounced Hor-den) is the last but one ground I have left in this division (the last being the remote Llanuwchyllin), with only Mynydd Isa’s Argoed Sports Ground in the division below. Harwarden’s Gladstone Playing Fields are about as basic as it gets, for third tier Welsh football. A fully railed pitch in a bigger community park. However, the dugouts were seriously high spec, perspex curvy types with eight gleaming blue seats beneath.

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Llay Welfare

Tuesday 25th August 6.15pm
Welsh National League Premier Division
Llay Welfare 2 Penycae 6 ht: 2-1 att: 46 (hc)

from The Ring

Free and No prog

This was the last week of the early kick offs in most of the county leagues and minor Welsh leagues. I had to get one in, before the nights starting drawing in, with only floodlit football an option. I forgot Wales was an option until now, having been to GPSO the previous week. However, despite only having five English grounds left at less than 50 miles, there’s a futher 14 in the Welsh National League, with Borras Park Albion the only one coming in at under 40. Llay was 42.9.

Penycae

Date: Sunday April 01 2012
Ground: Afoneitha Road
Comp: Cymru Alliance (Welsh step two)
Match: Penycae 0 Rhyl 2  HT: 0-1

ATT: circa 150
Additional: Entrance £5.00, Programme run out
Afoneitha Road in pictures

Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 6, Structures/Terracing 5, Hospitality 7, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger stadiums 7
Total 25

Another Cymru Alliance tick at Afoneitha Road, the home of Penycae FC. Penycae have one of the smaller grounds in the league, one of only four in the division without floodlights (three as at the start of 2012-13, with Rhos Aelwyd going down and the three promotees all floodlit.). They were promoted from the Wrexham oriented Welsh National League in 2010-11. They are a relatively recent Welsh club, being founded in 1982.

The ground is very smart and new looking, with just one small stand. The rest is hard standing at ground level. Rhyl were the visitors, swelling their average crowd to in excess of 100. As is typical at the Rhyl games I’d seen, they once again outplayed the opposition but made a complete meal of finishing them off. The second half sprang to life a bit when a dog ran onto the pitch, an entertaining minute which the dog made the most of, ended when his owner carried him off, to cheers.