Murphy spearheads push for big time at Porthcawl
FOOTBALL
PORTHCAWL Town Athletic Football Club is fielding three teams next winter, writes Tony Poole.
The new management team of Raymond Walker, Michael Crofts and Kevin Downes were delighted to see a plethora of players last week put pen to paper during registration night.
With pre-season preparations well under way at Lock’s Lane, 20 players climbed on board with the Seasiders while others will shortly do likewise.
Jason Murphy, a former Cheltenham Town and Leicester City coach, is leading the Porthcawl revolution.
“Jason Murphy is piecing together some quality training sessions and as far as the boys are concerned, it’s a case of onwards and upwards,” said Porthcawl Town Athletic spokesman Thomas Warren.
And given the numbers of players now available, the Seasiders are matching heady times in fielding three Saturday teams.
Pitch repairs are nearing completion, and the hope now is that the freeflowing style of the Nineties under football guru Steve Harris are about to make a comeback.
The Seasiders com- mence pre-season fixtures against Tondu Robins on the Sarn 3G pitch on Saturday week, and return to the ground on August 6 to face Welsh League Division Three side Treharris Athletic Western.
Training continues at Lock’s Lane on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6.15pm and new players would be made most welcome.
And there was further good news for the Seasiders last week with the return of one of the great characters on the local football scene.
Andrew (Candy) Cavill, who departed Cornelly United during the twilight stages of last season, has joined the buoyant second-team under Scott Rundle.
During a previous stay at Lock’s Lane, Cavill combined managerial duties with magical hands on the sponge and massage.
Over the past few seasons Rundle has been responsible for smoothing rough edges on many a player before graduating onto the senior scene.
And the latest piece in the club jigsaw has slotted into place via Robbie Ivin and Brad Tonner who have agreed to run the reformed third team, making Porthcawl the biggest club in town.
Finally, during the recent Presentation Evening staged at the clubhouse, Jordan Pugh and Matt Laverty cleaned up.
Pugh, who captained the senior team last winter, picked up the players’ player accolade and was also the managerial choice.
Laverty was Reserve player-of-the-year and the popular recipient of the Clubman silverware.
And last Saturday, Porthcawl members danced the night away in the clubhouse during the wedding reception of former club star Damian McCann.
He got married a few days earlier in Italy.