18th
September 2015
Carmarthen Town 0 Aberystwyth
Town 3 (Welsh Premier League)
“And we were singing, Hymns and Arias, Land of my
Fathers, Ar Hyd Y Nos”
That was the song that was running through my head as
the M4 swept past Neath and around the edges of Swansea. Of course, watch any
Swansea City game on the TV and you will hear it loud and clear, but for those
not of a Welsh persuasion, you would be forgiven for thinking that it was some
hymn of old that had been resurrected at the Liberty Stadium.
Not at all, very much like the Irish “Fields of
Athenry”, “Hymns and Arias” is quite a modern song and only over a more recent
era has it found it’s way to the football terraces. The song itself was penned
by Max Boyce and was originally about Welsh rugby fans making the bi-annual
pilgramage to Twickenham for the international. To be fair, it is actually a
humourous effort, that has seen the man himself create further different
versions to celebrate varying occasions over recent years, such as the hosting
of the Rugby World Cup and Swansea being promoted to the Premier League.
I found myself singing it in the car as the first signs
for Carmarthen appeared up ahead, the long journey was almost over. I decided
at the back end of last season that I was going to complete the Welsh Premier
League, and at the time the only ground I needed was Carmarthen Town. However,
due to a somewhat unusual final day result for Haverfordwest County, they were
promoted ahead of Cardiff Met University from the Welsh Football League, which
meant two trips to West Wales as opposed to the one.
The plan was simple, do one on a Friday, the other on a
Saturday and the job will be done on one trip! Not so, Haverfordwest is another
45 minuntes on from Carmarthen, and Carmarthen is almost four hours from home,
the footballing fixture Gods were not so kind and as it turned out I was not going
to be able to double them up. Haverfordwest will have to wait for another day.
But, with my final Cymru Alliance ground, at Rhayader
Town, playing on the Saturday, it was certainly a trip worth making on a
Friday, and gave me the opportunity to spend some time in Carmarthen, an area
of Wales I have not visited since I was a very small child taking holidays in
Saundersfoot.
The journey had been trouble free, a bit of a queue
around Monmouth and some slow traffic on the M4 between Newport and Cardiff
were the only slight trouble spots. Carmarthen, and my hotel car park were arrived in just after 1pm, it was time
to explore. I’d done my research and discovered that the town itself, while not
unattractive, didn’t have an awful lot about it to hold the tourists attention
for too long. An impressive County Hall, a small castle ruin, and the River
Towy were about as picturesque as it got. The town centre was fine, busy, and
while not excatly rammed with pubs, it had enough to keep me entertained.
The Queens Hotel, Yr Hen Dderwen, my residence for the
night The Boars Head, The Coracle Tavern and The Mansel Arms all provided
suitable libation, none of which though were overly populated. A number of
Irish Rugby fans were in town, they were clearly stopping en route to the
Millenium Stadium for the following days game against Canada in the World Cup.
After a little rest late afternoon, it was soon time to
make the short walk through the town centre to Richmond Park. The home of
Carmarthen Town is very much a town centre ground, easily accessible with
plenty of car parking. It’s a tidy venue, but not a venue with much character.
A large black and gold seated stand adorns one side, while opposite is the two
storey club house which offers a glass fronted viewing galary for the
‘corporate’ spectator!
Behind both goals are flat standing areas, albeit one
of them has the club shop located, which is sight to behold. Built in the style
of a ghetto blaster, the appearance was somewhat more interesting than the
contents!
A healthy crowd of over 400 had made an appearance, the
best of the season for what is effectively a local derby against West Coast
rivals Aberystwyth. Included in the crowd was Colin Picken and his wife, and it
was Colin who I spoke to about this very game at my first match of the season
at Hall Road Rangers. I managed to catch up briefly with Colin at half time and
chew the fat.
But, chew the fat about the game we didn’t because it
was awful. A lot of huff and puff, but very little in terms of quality and goal
mouth action. The second half did improve a little though, and after
Aberystwyth took the lead, it was pretty clear that Carmarthen were completely
bereft of ideas as to how to break down the resolute visitors defence.
Two late goals gave the scoreline a pretty flattering
look, but in all fairness Aber were the deserved winners because quite simply
they took the chances that came their way.
It was back to one of the pubs after the game to watch
the dying embers of the England v Fiji game in the World Cup, a few inebriated
Welsh Rugby fans were insitu, making a spectacle of themselves, and while stood
at the bar I had a little encounter with one of them. A chap carrying an
inflatable sheep came over to me, eyes going in different directions, this, I
thought, could go any numbers of ways....
“Do you want a photo with me and my sheep?” was his
request?
Before I had time to answer, he had his arm around my
shoulders and a blow up sheep was wedged between us, I looked up and saw
another boyo taking our photograph. Quite clearly, I am never going to get a
copy of this photo, and to be honest I don’t especially want it to see the
light of day, so why he asked me if I wanted a photo with him and his sheep is
anyones guess. So a bit like the inflatable sheep, it was clearly for his own
personal use only!
But as the aforementioned gentleman, and his sheep,
left the pub, he burst into song..
“And we were singing, Hymns and Arias......”
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