DRAGON SIGNS F.A.W. TROPHY
MATCH PREVIEWS
Dragon Signs F.A.W. Trophy Round 6
Trethomas Bluebirds v Baglan Dragons
Saturday 18th February 2023, CCB Centre for Sporting Excellence, Ystrad Mynach, Kick off 2:00pm
This week sees us preview the Dragon Signs FAW Trophy Quarter Final between our last two Ardal Southern sides in the competition Trethomas Bluebirds who are in 3rd place in the South East Division and Baglan Dragons who are in 12th place in the South West Division and last season’s FAW Trophy Finalists. The game takes place at the Centre of Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach. Trethomas have beaten Sudbrook (6-0), Marshfield (5-0), Cardiff Airport (2-1), Undy Athletic (4-1) and Bangor 1876 (2-1) on the way to this seasons Sixth Round, while Baglan Dragons have seen off Evans & Williams (6-1), Clwb Cymric (2-0) and CPD Llanberis (1-0) after starting the competition late thanks to their exploits of last season where they were unlucky to lose 1-0 in the Final to Mold Alexandra at Caersws Recreation Ground.
Here we take a preview of both teams, speaking to their Managers, Mark Dunford of Trethomas Bluebirds and Carl Clement of Baglan Dragons. It promises to be a an intense tie between two cup specialists, Trethomas being the current holders of the Ardal Southern League Cup and Baglan an unknown quantity to most as this is their first season in Tier 3 Football. Levis Rees has 5 goals for the Bluebirds in this season competition, with Ethan Edwards close behind with 4 goals, while Baglan star Josh Williams, hero of their win over Llanberis has scored 4 goals in just 3 games this season in the Trophy.
Starting with the home Manager, Mark Dunford (Photo L to R: Mark Dunford & Matthew Thomas) below takes time out to tell us of his playing and coaching background and how preparations have gone for Saturday.
“I had trials for Tottenham Hotspur at the age of 14.”
“My playing career spanned 30 years when I eventually retired at the age of 37. There are too many clubs to mention but highlights have to be playing for Maesteg Park, Goytre United, Pontardawe Town and Pontypridd Town. I also represented the South West of England at Under 19 level and I had trials for Tottenham Hotspur at the age of 14. The highlights for me were winning the Welsh League Cup with Goytre United in 2005, I believe, and scoring in the final, as well as capturing the Welsh League Division 3 title with Pontypridd Town. I won a few golden boots over the years as well but again too many to mention. That’s a joke by the way.”
“I first encountered the world of coaching at a young age helping out with local youth football. My passion sits in the senior game however and I first took the reins of Dinas Powys at the age of 31 in a Player- Manager role. We achieved, I believe, a fourth place finish followed by fifth place finish in the old Welsh League Division 2 for the seasons that I was in charge and it was a pleasure to pick up the ‘Club Manager of the Season’ award in my first managerial role in football.”
“I took a break from management for 6 years while I concentrated on my playing career and returned as First Team Manager of Trethomas Bluebirds in the season leading into the pandemic, which was an experience in itself. I have since completed my UEFA FAW B License and have aspirations to achieve the A license in due course. At Trethomas I achieved a fourth place finish in my first full season in charge and managed to win the Ardal Southern League Cup which was a very rewarding occasion for us all. My managerial highs this season to date has been the two cup wins over Haverfordwest County in the Welsh Cup and Bangor 1864 in this competition. Both huge scalps for the club and it shows how far we have come.”
“I am proud of the squad that we have assembled as a management team.”
“The squad that I inherited at Trethomas was one that showed promise, but needed strengthening in terms of many qualities. With the clubs limited resources this was always going to take time and over the 2-3 years I am proud of the squad that we have assembled as a management team and club as a whole. The clubs name is now going in the public eye and the way it functions makes it an attractive product for players to join. The takeover by David Evans as Chairman and subsequent appointment of Derek Brazil into the Committee has given us a sound structure and my relationship with them and the whole committee is a very positive one. Alun Griffiths has moved into a back room position and he has embraced this fully being integral in the implementation of the Manchester United legends game this coming June. The squad is a product of the management team in terms of links at previous clubs and also ‘fresh faces’ who have bought into the club philosophy. We are blessed with a healthy blend of experience and youth which provides me as manager with an efficient ‘set of tools’ to go about my work. The standards we set and the way we, as a management team conduct ourselves, has created an environment that players want to be part of and proof of this is shown with multiple players turning down moves to the JD Cymru South mainly on the basis of the player experience that they have with us at Trethomas which is something we are very proud of.”
“My Chairman David Evans is an absolute pleasure to work with at the football club. We function extremely well together and he is a valuable asset to the Trethomas family as well as a personal friend to me away from football. Derek Brazil is our Football Liaison Officer. He has been a monumental addition to the club in the last 6 months. Derek has been outstanding since joining the club and has developed an excellent relationship with myself and everyone else at the club. He had a great career as a player with the likes of Manchester United, Swansea City and Cardiff City and provides glamour as well as a wealth of knowledge to the committee and management. Our President is Gerwyn George and Speedy has been Club President for many many years and is an ex player for the club. A pleasure to work with too.”
“My Assistant Managers are Matthew Jones and Adam Raymond. Matthew known as ‘Dai’ is an ‘A License’ candidate within the FAW Coach Education system and has semi-retired from playing to concentrate more on this aspect of his football development. His attention to detail and relationships with management and players has been of the highest level and I believe he has taken us forward from a management team perspective. While Adam Raymond is someone I played with and managed at Dinas Powys and I made him my Captain. It therefore doesn’t surprise me that we are in tandem once again. Adam installs high levels of demand and motivation into the group and is someone highly regarded by the players and all at the club. Lee Moore is my Head Coach. I worked with Lee at Dinas Powys and when I took over at Trethomas he was also on my radar to bring in. He is a committed, and passionate member of the coaching staff and dedicates every small piece of his spare time to the project. Nothing is ever too much for Lee and he is highly valued within the set up. Gareth Williams is my Goalkeeper Coach and a Trethomas man through and through. Gareth brings a wealth of experience at a very high standard as a player and has ambition to develop his coaching credentials. He is an excellent back up keeper for us also. While our Kit Men are Garry Morris and his brother Tyrone Morris. Garry is Mr. Trethomas, a club legend who is ‘bang on’ with everything he does week in week out. A favourite of all the lads and loves a bit of changing room banter too. A joy to have him around. While Tyrone has become more prominent this season in assisting Gary with all things kit and equipment. A valuable member of the back room staff.”
“I know it will be a highly contested game and one in which we will prepare well for.”
“Preparations for Saturday have been business as usual. We had our detailed training session on Tuesday night to prepare for specific aspects of the challenge ahead alongside the constants of rehabilitation for injured players and fitness based work. We have been lucky enough to find time to watch our opponents but as we know this isn’t always a ‘game changer’ by any means. My knowledge of Baglan Dragons, as a club, is very limited due to them climbing the pyramid and taking their place only this season in Tier 3 of Welsh Football. I have been fortunate to only ever play or manage at this level and above and therefore, in my own admission, my knowledge below this level is limited. It is however great to see a club like Baglan progressing and I am friends with one of their coaching staff Sean Cayford. Knowing Sean and his values they will be very well run and prepared for this game. The game is a quarter final at the end of the day so everything goes out of the window in terms of history, form etc. I know it will be a highly contested game and one in which we will prepare well for. I am an ambitious manager and I aim to take Trethomas Bluebirds as far as I can with the resources available. As already mentioned I believe the club is moving quickly in an upward trajectory, with what we have all put together, and we will see what the future holds.”
In the other dugout Saturday will be Carl Clement, Manager of Baglan Dragons and here he talks to us about his journey, his players, staff and how their preparations have gone this week.
“I spent most of my senior playing career down Corus/Tata Steel FC. I played there from about the age of 22 for over 10 years and have some fantastic memories, most notably when we achieved three promotions in 4 years to go up the Divisions from the South Wales Amateur League up to the Welsh League Division 1. Unfortunately the rise on the field could not be matched off the field and eventually the club became unstainable and folded a few years later. I actually started as a Player-Coach at Baglan with the intention of focusing on playing, however a few games into my first season the manager had left for pastures new, we had a poor start to the season and were struggling to get results. I spoke with the club and we agreed I would take temporary charge and try to stabilise the situation we found ourselves in. I had helped sign a few players to come to the club, so when the manager left I almost felt I had to try and do anything I could to help improve the dire situation we found ourselves in, so in many ways I found myself as the manager completely unplanned and to be honest with no previous experience in coaching or as a football manager it was always going to be a big challenge. We managed to find some form and began to climb the table, based on the disarray we were in the early part of the season and a number of players leaving the club, I think we managed to finish seventh that year, which was a great effort by the players.”
“Baglan had been trying for over 30 years to Tier 3 status.”
“My first full season as Manager was cut short due to Covid, we had just lost in the Semi-finals of the FAW Trophy. That was my first experience with the competition as a manager and I was very proud of the team for reaching the semi-final. Unfortunately we came up against a very good Penydarren side and despite taking an early lead it was a stretch to far for us and the better side won on the day. That cup run was a great experience for the squad and everyone involved at the club. The final was never played due to Covid. The season was curtailed and decided on PPG basis. That was a real killer for us as we had been up there challenging and had been getting stronger throughout the season, I genuinely believe we would of gone on to win the league that year, but unfortunately the pandemic had other ideas. The holy grail at Baglan was to reach the Welsh League (now Ardal Southern League), Baglan had been trying for over 30 years to Tier 3 status and despite coming close on a few occasions they had never managed it. I was determined that the season 2021-22 would be the year we would achieve this, we managed to add a further 3-4 quality players to an already strong squad, we knew the South Wales Alliance Premier League would be tough and a number of teams would be pushing for promotion so it was a case of hitting the ground running and having a large squad which would cope with a very challenging season. We managed to win the league and by some distance, that is something I will always remember for the rest of my life, it meant so much too so many people at this club. Unfortunately not all of them are still with us so it was quite an emotional day for everyone involved at the club, the final day lifting the league trophy and seeing the faces of those who had wanted this for so long was special.”
“A fantastic achievement and created a real buzz around the club.”
“That season we once again had a very memorable run in the FAW Trophy, going one better than the previous semi-final, we managed to get to the final. This was a fantastic achievement and created a real buzz around the club, unfortunately we couldn’t quite get the job done in the final and narrowly lost 1-0 to Mold Alexander.”
“We have a good squad, quite young and a great set of lads, we haven’t had the best start to the season and have been disappointed with our league results to date. That said, we haven’t been good enough based on the standard we set ourselves. We still have 17 league games left so we have time to turn it around and climb the table, the squad has got stronger since the start of 2023, with a couple of new additions and also a welcome boost with a few lads becoming available after injury, so hopefully this puts us in good stead for the remainder of the season. We have prepared as normal, I think that’s important not to build it up as anything more than what it is, we have played in the Quarter Finals in the two previous seasons, so know what to expect in terms of the build-up etc. That said we will reiterate to the lads that it’s not very often you get to play in the quarter finals of this prestigious cup, so we know the importance of the game, we have discussed it in training, but I know it’s a game everyone at the club is looking forward being involved in.” My management team is made up of Sean Cayford and Steven Lewis. Sean is a fantastic coach and a very good man off the field, someone that demands nothing less than 100% effort from everyone he works with. He sets the standard for what’s required in terms of fitness and effort from the players. While I played under Steven for many years down Corus/Tata, a proper footballing person that has over 30 years’ experience in senior football, another great man off the field and someone all the players have so much respect for.”
“It would be some achievement if we could go on and win it this year.”
“Trethomas Bluebirds are doing very well in a tough league and that doesn’t happen unless you’re a top side. We know they are a very good side that work hard and have a number of quality players, it’s going to be a big challenge for us, to get a result. We know we are going to have to be playing at the top of our game. After getting to the Semis and Final in the last two competitions it would be some achievement if we could go on and win it this year. It’s a big ask though but we will certainly be giving it our best shot. After trying for over 30 years to achieve Welsh League status, then naturally the immediate aim is to secure this status for the near future. The league is so competitive this year from what we’ve seen and most the teams are capable of beating each other, so that’s a challenge in itself.”
