Carmarthen Town A.F.C.

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Carmarthen Town
Carmarthen Town FC.png
Full name Carmarthen Town Association Football Club
Nickname(s) Old Gold, The Town
Founded 1950; 74 years ago (1950)
Ground Richmond Park
Carmarthen
Ground Capacity 3,000 (1000 seated)
President Einsley Harris
Chairman Jeff Thomas[1]
Manager Mark Aizlewood
League Welsh Premier League
2014–15 Welsh Premier League, 9th
Website Club home page
Current season

Carmarthen Town Association Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Tref Caerfyrddin) is a Welsh semi-professional football club based in Carmarthen. The team play their home games at Richmond Park. The club colours, reflected in their crest and kit, are gold and black.

Formed in 1950, Carmarthen Town was elected into the Welsh Football League in 1953. Their first league honour came in 1959–60, with promotion from Division 2 West to the First Division of the Welsh League. Carmarthen Town's first trophy was the Welsh Football League Cup, which they won in the 1995–96 season. Since then the club have gone on to win the Welsh Cup once and the Welsh League Cup twice. They have also qualified for UEFA competitions on four occasions.

Carmarthen Town currently play in Welsh Premier League and have yet to win a league title, despite being in the top tier of Welsh football since 1996–97. The club had their highest-ever finish in 2000–01, with third place, which qualified them for European competition for the first time.

History

The first attempt to form a Carmarthen Town team came in 1920. Jack Harding, a Geordie who settled in the town and had previously played in the Wearside League, made his initial effort in order to give other local sides more competition. The club only lasted for three years. Jack then went on to play for the St.Peter's and Quay Rovers (a Carmarthen team in all but name) clubs both of which folded in 1939. After the Second World War he founded a Carmarthen Athletic team but the players were not fully committed. In fact one match had to be called off as most of the team were engaged in bell ringing on a Saturday. However, he was more successful in 1950 when forming Carmarthen Town and he made some shrewd signings from Llanelli and Swansea. The club played their first two seasons at Penllwyn Park and in 1952 moved to the newly created Richmond Park. A year later an application to join the Welsh League was successful with the new captain, Len Emanuel, taking over the reins. The stated aim of the club was "to give the public good football," and they succeeded in attracting crowds of over three thousand to home games. With only one team gaining promotion from the Second Division (West) the club finally achieved success in 1960 following five seasons as league runners-up. Alas, relegation followed twelve months later. It took four further years to win promotion again. The years passed with mediocre league placings and in 1976 the club looked like folding. It was the disbanded reserve team's committee which came to the fore and took over the running of the whole club. Relegation came again in 1979 and again in 1982. Things were grim. At long last promotion was achieved in 1992, and once more in 1995. The upward surge continued and the Welsh League Championship was won in 1996 along with the Welsh League Cup. The Old Gold were now in the League of Wales. The 1996/97 season was one of consolidation. Early in the following season, in September 1997, Carmarthen attracted a record league crowd of 911 to their match against Barry Town. The season's club captain Mark Delaney would go on to establish himself in England at Premier League club Aston Villa. In May 1999 the Old Gold reached the Welsh Cup Final (losing on penalties) and the following year were runners-up in the Welsh Senior Cup. In 2001 Carmarthen finished third in the league and so qualified for a European competition for the first time. A 0–0 home draw against the Swedish side AIK Stockholm in the UEFA Inter-Toto Cup was followed by a 3–0 loss in the return leg. The appointment of Mark Jones as manager in the summer of 2004 stopped a slide which had seen the club fail to gain on their European experience. Within twelve months the club were again in Europe having qualified as losing finalists in the Welsh Cup. Carmarthen were drawn against League of Ireland club Longford Town and were beaten 2–0 in the away leg. A fortnight later came the highest point in the club's history when they thrashed the Irishmen 5–1 to achieve the highest score by any Welsh club in European competition. The second Qualifying Round saw 2–0 defeats in both legs against Danish side FC Copenhagen. Fourth place in the league in 2006 saw the club gain a second season of European football but, again, defeat in both legs, this time against Finnish club Tampere United ensured there was no repeat of the previous season's euphoria. The 2006/07 season saw the club win the Welsh Cup for the first time which meant more European matches. However, the Norwegian club SK Brann were far too strong for the Old Gold over both legs. The next two seasons saw little success and with the now renamed Welsh Premier League due to be restructured after the end of the 2009/10 season it was imperative that Carmarthen finished in the top twelve to retain their status. They succeeded, but only by the skin of their teeth. The club's first season in the revamped league was inconsistent and in January 2012, former coach Mark Aizlewood was appointed as manager in an attempt to save the club from relegation. With some new signings he managed the virtually impossible and the following summer changed the vast majority of the team's personnel. This resulted in the club having its best season for many years. The League Cup success against TNS on a cold January day in Newtown was followed by qualification for the WPL Championship Conference and an automatic Europa League qualifying semi-final match. The League Cup was won again in January 2014 when Bala Town were defeated. For the 2014/15 season Aizlewood and coach, Neil Smothers, have brought in a few new faces to add to the squad. In February 2014 Carmarthen Town played their 600th Welsh Premier League match which is a far cry from that initial 1950/51 season.

Stadium

A grandstand at a sports venue. The seats are black and gold.
Clay Shaw Butler Stand, Richmond Park (Carmarthen),
A panoramic view from the Clay Shaw Butler Stand.

Main article(s): Richmond Park (Carmarthen)

From 1952 Carmarthen Town have played at Richmond Park in Carmarthen. The ground has been redeveloped over recent years into a small, modern and compact football stadium with a capacity of 3,000. The club's new Clay Shaw Butler Stand has a 1000-seat capacity which enabled Carmarthen Town to host the club's first ever home European fixture at the ground in July 2007 when they entertained Norwegian side SK Brann.

Supporters

In the 2012–13 season Carmarthen's average attendance was 296, placing them fourth out of twelve teams in the Welsh Premier League. The highest league gate of the season came against Afan Lido FC with 413 spectators and the lowest, 167, against Airbus UK Broughton. [2]

Current squad

As of 28 August 2014.[3][4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Wales GK Lee Idzi
2 Wales DF Luke Cummings
3 Wales DF Craig Hanford
4 England DF {{{name}}}
5 Wales DF Ibrahim Farah
6 Wales DF Chris Thomas
7 Wales MF Chris Hartland
9 England MF Robert Irvine
10 Wales MF Lewis Harling
11 Wales FW Kyle Bassett
No. Position Player
14 Wales MF Ceri Morgan
16 Wales DF Mark Aizlewood
15 Wales DF Neil Smothers
17 Wales FW Jeff White
18 Wales DF Liam Thomas
20 Wales FW Danny Thomas
21 Wales MF Sascha Walters

Club officials

File:Deryn Brace2010.jpg
Deryn Brace, Player-Manager of Carmarthen Town between 2007 and 2010
As of 07 June 2013.[5][6]
Senior club staff
  • President: Einsley Harris
  • Chairman: Jeff Thomas
  • Club Secretary & Football Administrator: Gareth Jones
  • Press Officer: Chris Harte
Coaching and medical staff
  • Manager: Mark Aizlewood
  • Assistant Manager: Neil Smothers
  • Player/Coach: Danny Thomas
  • Physiotherapist: Richard Brook

Managerial history

The following managers have each been in charge of Carmarthen Town since the club gained promotion to the highest tier in Welsh football, the Welsh Premier League, in 1996.

As of January 2014

Name Nationality Period Honours
From To
Wyndham Evans  Wales January 1996 October 1996 Welsh Football League Cup Winner
John Mahoney  Wales October 1996 November 1998
Tomi Morgan  Wales November 1998 24 September 2003[7] Welsh Cup Runner-up, Highest ever League position: 3rd place 2000–01
Andrew York  Wales 24 September 2003[7] May 2004 Welsh League Cup Runner-up
Mark Jones  Wales 12 May 2004[8] 22 May 2007[9] Welsh Cup Winner, Welsh Cup Runner-up, Welsh League Cup Winner
Deryn Brace  Wales 23 May 2007[9] 8 June 2010[10][11]
Tomi Morgan  Wales 8 June 2010[10] 5 December 2011[12]
Neil Smothers  Wales 5 December 2011[12] 7 January 2012[13]
Mark Aizlewood  Wales 7 January 2012[13] Present Welsh League Cup Winner (2): 2012–13, 2013–14

Honours

As of 10 January 2014.[14]

The Welsh Football League

Domestic Cup Competition

  • Welsh Cup:
    • Winners (1): 2006–07
    • Runners-up (2): 1998–99, 2004–05
  • West Wales Senior Cup:
    • Winners (1): 2004
    • Runners-up (2): 2003, 2006

European Competition

Records

As of 3 August 2013.[15]

Record wins

  • Record league win: 9–1 against UWIC Inter Cardiff, 21 October 2000
  • Record league home win:
9–1 against UWIC Inter Cardiff, 21 October 2000
8–0 against Cardiff Grange Quins, 10 December 2005
8–0 against Connah's Quay Nomads, 8 December 2007
  • Record league away win: 7–1 against Caersws, 6 October 2006

Record defeats

  • Record league defeat: 0–8 against The New Saints, 29 March 2009
  • Record league home defeat:
1–5 against Bangor City, 7 December 1996
0–4 against Aberystwyth Town, 26 February 1997
0–4 against Ton Pentre, 4 September 1996
0–4 against Haverfordwest County, 8 December 2000

Player records

  • Most goals in season:
18 by Danny Thomas in 2007–08
18 by Richard Parker in 1999-00
  • Most goals in match: 5 by Tim Hicks against Connah's Quay Nomads, 8 December 2007
  • Club top scorer: 56 by Danny Thomas from 116 appearances (+41 substitute appearances)
  • Most club appearances: 199 (+12 substitute appearance) by Paul Fowler

European record

  • Record European win: 5–1 against Longford Town, 28 July 2005
  • Record European defeat: 0–8 against SK Brann, 19 July 2007
Carmarthen Town's scores are given first in all scorelines.
Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate Refs
2001–02 UEFA Intertoto Cup First round Sweden AIK Solna 0–0 0–3 0–3 [16]
2005–06 UEFA Cup First qualifying round Republic of Ireland Longford Town 5–1 0–2 5–3 [17]
Second qualifying round Denmark FC Copenhagen 0–2 0–2 0–4 [17]
2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup First round Finland Tampere United 1–3 0–5 1–8 [18]
2007–08 UEFA Cup First qualifying round Norway SK Brann 0–8 3–6 3–14 [19]

See also

List of Carmarthen Town A.F.C. seasons

References

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  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Official websites
News sites
Other
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