Llanfyllin Town F.C.

Llanfyllin Town
Full name Llanfyllin Town Football Club
Nickname(s) The Magpies
Founded 1885
Ground Cae Llwyn
Llanfyllin
SY22 5BJ
Ground Capacity 100 seated, 1500 standing
Chairman Bryn Thomas
Manager Russell Jones
League Montgomeryshire Football League Division One
2015-16 Montgomeryshire Football League Division One, 6th (of 12)
Website [ Club website]

Llanfyllin Town Football Club are a football club from Llanfyllin, Powys. While the Llanfyllin Men's Senior team currently compete in the 5th tier of Welsh football and play in the Montgomeryshire Amateur League Division One, the club field an under 19's youth team in the Central Wales Youth League and the Ladies team compete in the Dave Smith North Powys League.

History

At present the men's first team play in the JT Hughes Montgomeryshire Amateur League Division One, youth team play in the Mid Wales Youth League and the ladies team are current champions of the Dave Smith North Powys Ladies League.

The club was founded prior to 1885 as records show that the club played in the Welsh Cup for the first time in the 1885/86 season beating Wem White Stars 8-0 in the first round before losing to Shrewsbury Castle Blues in the second round. The club also reached the quarter final in 1886/87 before losing to Oswestry Town. The earliest match report found is a 4-0 defeat against a Newtown XI played on 28 November 1886. The earliest photograph discovered was taken in 1899 of Llanfyllin Town Reserves. It is believed that the club were the first in the Montgomeryshire Amateur League to have a manager and possibly the first club in Wales to have shirt sponsors.

The club were winners of the Montgomeryshire Challenge Cup in 1910/11, 1911/12 and 1923/24. After the war the club resumed in the Mid Wales League (North) with a Reserve team in the Montgomeryshire Amateur League. The Mid Wales title was won in 1947/48. The decision was taken in 1949 to play one team only in the Montgomeryshire Amateur League.

The club saw a period of uncertainty from 1957/58 through to 1965/66 when there were only seasons 1962/63, 1963/64 and 1964/65 when a team was entered in competitive football due to various difficulties, play then resumed in the Montgomeryshire Amateur in 1966/67. The 1970s and early 1980s saw a period of considerable success for the club with six Montgomeryshire Amateur League title wins and three runners-up, also Cup success in the Emrys Morgan Cup (winning once and runners-up twice), the League Cup (winning once and runners-up four times).

Promotion was gained to the Spar Mid Wales League in 2000/2001. The club won the Central Wales F A Challenge Cup, for the first time in its history in season 2006/07, when as underdogs beat Cymru Alliance side Guilsfield in the Final. In recent years, the club has been managed by Martyn Digwood, Alwyn Jones, Mario Iaquinta, Ian Furness and Graham Evans. Following a club decision to take voluntary relegation from the Spar Mid Wales League down to the JT Hughes Montgomeryshire Football League, Graham Evans departed as Manager and Benji Evans took charge in June 2013.[1] The club reached the final of the 'Llanfechain Knockout' summer competition in August 2013, but a narrow 2-1 defeat to local rivals Llanrhaeadr denied the Magpies of the first sign of silverware for seven years. After the long wait, Llanfyllin Town FC won the Tanners Town Cup in May 2014, having defeated Waterloo Rovers and Llanfair Utd on route to the final. Llanfyllin beat Newtown based side, Maesyrhandir F.C 4-2 AET in an entertaining final. A top 6 finish in the league completed a productive 1st season back in the Montgomeryshire Football League. The 2014/15 season saw huge improvements and development at the club. Following a slow start to the season, Llanfyllin went on a 11-game unbeaten run, only to fall short and finish the season in 4th place in the league, 9 points behind champions Bettws. The club had a successful run in the Emrys Morgan Memorial Thophy, scoring an impressive 15 goals on route to the 5th round, before losing to an impressive Cardigan Town side who went on to win the competition. Further development at the club at the start of the 2015/2016 season saw an Under 19's Team established. Following a local demand in the area to develop a platform for youth players, the club decided to establish an under 19's to provide opportunities for local players to develop. The youths are set to play in the Central Wales Youth League. A great start to the 2015/16 season and after waiting 15 long years, Llanfyllin Town finally regained the 'Llanfechain Knockout' Cup by defeating Waterloo Rovers 4-1 in the final. Benji Evans stepped down as Manager on 5 September 2015. Following a 4-1 home victory over Caersws Reserves, Evans highlighting that increased commitments at work was the main reason for his decision. Stuart Jones took over for a short period, alongside Callum Caughan. Jones quit one month into his new role, with Vaughan agreeing to take over for the rest of the season alongside his role as Head Coach of the youth team. The Senior team had a mixed season finishing six in the league, but reached the semi finals of the Tanners Town and League cups. Vaughans young U18 team did reach a final, outweighing some of the areas biggest teams to get to the Central Wales Youth Cup final, sadly losing 5-4 to Llanidloes Town. Due to various commitments Vaughan agreed to continue his role with the Youths, but the club needed to find a new 1st team manager. Ex reserve team Manager Russell Jones was appointed in July ready for the new 2016/17 season.

Club Honours

References

  1. ↑ http://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/123666/llanfyllin-quit-senior-football.aspx
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