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Home , Bernard de Neufmarche, Buellt, New Radnor, Presteigne

Date: 26.12.2018

Ground: 77

Match: 18 (2018/2019 season)

Venue: Forest Road

Teams: Hay St. Mary’s V St. Andrews

Competition: Mid League Division 2

Admission: £3

Final Score: 5-2 ( H/T 3-0 )

Referee: Not Known

Attendance: 81 ( Head Count )

Mileage to venue and return: 101.8 Miles

Programme: None on Sale

Introduction

Happy Christmas one and all – my travels on Boxing Day took me too Forest Road home of Hay St. Mary’s Football Club.

My Father-in-Law, Dave accompanied me to the match and we arrived at the ground at 13:45, plenty of time for me to have a couple of festive beers as Dave was driving. This was the first time we had attended a football match together since Boxing Day 2017 where we watched West Bromwich Albion V Everton at The Hawthorns.

We enjoyed a pleasant journey from South Shropshire too the town of Hay-on-Wye, too my surprise there was little traffic on the roads.

Right, lets get into my report of the day, as usual the first segment of my report will provide information with regards to Hay-on-Wye, the town where Hay St. Mary’s Football Club is based.

Hay-on-Wye

Hay-on-Wye or in Welsh – Y Gelli Gandryll or just Y Gelli and often shortened to just, “Hay” is a small market town situated in the historic county of (Breconshire) in Wales, currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Powys.

Following the census of 2011, the town was recorded as having a population of 1598 people.

The area is first referred too between 1135 and 1147 as “Haya” by 1299 the name of “La Haye” was in use. Fast forward to the 16th Century and the area was simply known as “Hay”

In 1215, a Welsh name, “Gelli” was recorded and subsequently “Gelli gandrell” in 1614, one school of thought is that the two names were used concurrently in 1625. The English name “Hay” comes from the Old English language, “Haeg” which possibly means a “fenced area”. It was also used as a noun in late Saxon and Norman times for an enclosure in a forest.

The Welsh word, celli, lenited (sound change) to Gelli has several meanings including wooded areas of various extents.

Hay-on-Wye is situated on the South-East bank of the and is also within the North- easternmost point of the Beacons National Park, lying just North of the Black Mountains.

The town is only just on the Welsh section of the border with the County of , – duly defined by the Dulas Brook. The Brook joins the River Wye slightly North of the town and the border continues to travel North along the river. The Wye was formerly the boundary between the former counties and districts of and Brecknockshire.

Adjacent to the town of Hay-on-Wye is the village of Cussop which lies on the English side of the Dulas Brook. The closest city to the town is , only a 22-mile drive to the East.

Hay-on-Wye is famous for bookshops and is a destination for the lovers of books. The town still has over 20 book shops at its disposal, many of which selling both specialist and second-hand books. Since 1988, the town has been the venue of a literacy festival which is now sponsored by the Daily Telegraph Newspaper. The festival runs for a full ten days and attracts more than 80,000 visitors over the ten-day format.

Like the town of (19 miles to the North-West of Hay-on-Wye) Hay-on-Wye has two from the Norman Period. It is possible that the town was firstly fortified by William FitzOsbern (1020-1071) during his penetration of the South-East area of Wales during the summer of 1070 and achieved by successfully defeating three Welsh Kings. FitzOsbern was a relative and respected counsellor of as well as being the Lord of Breteuil in and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. The history of the area then proceeds to continue through the Lordships of the de Neufmarches, confirmed during the battle of Brecon in 1093 and also the /Hereford families until 1165, when the district of (Brycheiniog was an independent Kingdom in during the middle ages) transferred into the hands of the de Braose dynasty (William de Braose, First Lord of Bramber) of Marcher Lords.

During 1230, Hay was passed onto the de Bohuns and the local history, which includes the battle near Hay in 1231 is continued throughout the Mortimer Wars of the 1260’s and the battle near Brecon in 1266 down to the death of Earl Humphrey de Bohun in 1298.

Situated close to St Mary’s Church on the very western edge of Hay-on-Wye is a small sized but well- preserved motte. The site of the motte overlooks a gorge and stream, known locally as The Loggin Brook, the Brook flows into the River Wye. Historians suggest that this was without doubt one reason for the construction of a motte and bailey castle upon the site. The Fortress, small in stature was possibly the work of Bernard de Neufmarche (1050-1125 – one of the first conquerors of Wales) the same site may well later have been the seat for the manor or of Melinog.

The main fortress in Hay-on-Wye was positioned on the site commanding the town and river under the present-day ruins of the castle and mansion. Historians have little doubt that this was the ‘castello de haia’ which was handed over into the possession of, Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford in 1121 with Sibyl de Neufmarche, the daughter of Bernard de Neufmarche. There is a distinct possibility that this could be the oldest Norman tower in the whole of Wales dating to the strike by William FitzOsbern in 1070. During the anarchy of 1136-1154 and in the reign of King Stephen (1092/96 – 1154) a series of charters were passed by the Gloucester’s with regards to the castle. In 1165 the final male descendant of Miles of Gloucester was killed at nearby Castle, Bronllys – subsequently Hay- on-Wye castle passed into the hands of William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber and of and Buellt. The de Braose family were hard working and active Lords and most likely built the core of the gatehouse, the gatehouse stands besides the keep, today. During the summer of 1198 a significant English army formed here, onwards they marched to victory at the Battle of , Painscastle is situated between the towns of Builth and Hay-on-Wye, approximately three miles from the Wales-England border.

In 1230 the last de Braose of Brecon, namely William de Braose was hanged by Prince Llwelyn ab Lowerth. Prince Llwelyn 1173-1240 was a King of Gwynedd in North Wales and was to become the ruler of all of Wales, the Prince dominated Wales for a period of 45 years. Following the hanging of William de Braose, Brecon lordship with Hay-on-Wye was passed over into the hands of the de Bohuns. Prince Llwelyn used this to his advantage in 1231 by ravaging the lands of his de Bohun in- laws, in doing so much of Hay-on-Wye was burnt, the castle did however somehow survive the onslaught. The castle was to change hands three times in three years between 1263-1266, during the Barons’ War.

In approximately 1401 both the town and the castle sustained damage by the forces of Owain Glyndwr. (1359-1415, Owain Glyndwr was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales) The castle was still listed as defensible against the Welsh two years later in 1403. Later the castle would be the possession of the Earls of Stafford, who were subsequently to become the unfortunate and unlucky dukes of Buckingham during the War of the Roses. During the conflicts of the 1460’s the castle was repaired but reports suggest that its military use would have been a little dubious against cannon fire.

During the 1660’s, James Boyle from nearby Hereford constructed a new mansion on the north side of the castle. In doing this, Boyle demolished the majority of the curtain wall in order to obtain better views. The mansion today is now used for second-hand book selling.

The town of Hay-on-Wye is twinned with a Belgian village by the name of Redu situated in the municipality of Libin. It is also twinned with the ancient city of Timbuktu in Mali.

On 1st April 1977, Richard George William Pitt Booth MBE (born in Hay-on-Wye in 1938) derived a publicity stunt by declaring Hay-on-Wye an independent kingdom and in doing so declared himself as its monarch. Hay-on-Wye was to even have its own National Anthem, written by Les Penning. This unique set of tongue in cheek events has subsequently helped to develop a healthy tourism industry based upon literacy events for which some people credit to Booth. In 2005, Booth spoke of plans to sell his bookshop in the town and relocate to , this news moved local MP Roger Williams to say – “His legacy will be that Hay changed from a small market town into a mecca for second-hand book lovers and this transformed the local economy”

Other notable people with connections to Hay-on-Wye include:

Herbert Rowse Armstrong the “Hay Poisoner” – the only UK solicitor to have been hanged for murder.

Josie Pearson, Paralympian athlete and Gold Medal winner at the 2012 Paralympic Games.

In 2017, Hay-on-Wye was named as one of the best places to live in Wales. Forest Road

Forest Road is the home ground of Hay St. Mary’s Football Club, the ground is situated on Brecon Road in Hay-on-Wye. As you can see from the picture below, the football club share the Hay-on-Wye Recreation Ground with the town’s Bowling Club, Cricket Club and Tennis Club. There is also a children’s playground on the same site making it a wonderful set of facilities for the whole .

Dave and I parked the car next to the playground and proceeded to walk past the bowling green and towards a large building opposite to said bowling green. This building is home to the toilets, changing rooms and a small but pleasant snack bar. We stopped here for drink, Dave paid a £1 for a mug of tea and I opted to have a can of lager priced at £2. During our short stay in this snack bar I had a little wonder around and found a framed Brazil shirt signed by Pele hanging on the wall, now I just had to take a picture of that.

Whilst we were in the bar I was pleased to meet and chat to Will Perkins, Will, plays for Wellington Football Club. I visited the Wellington Playing Fields home of Wellington FC in November for their Herefordshire FA County Challenge Cup Quarter Final against Westfields. Ground 75 on my ground hopping journey, the report for this can be found on my blog.

After chatting to Will, Dave and I made the walk from besides the bowling green to the football ground itself. Before we got to the main pitch, I could see that both teams were warming up on the training pitch just below the main pitch.

Hay St. Mary’s being put through their paces

We entered the ground and paid our admission of £3 for myself and £2 concession for Dave who I describe as a senior gentleman instead of an old age pensioner. Just to prove what hard work goes into running grassroots football club across the UK, the man taking the money on the gate was the same man who was working behind the bar by the bowling club. Without these volunteers many football clubs across the UK would not be able to survive, people – please support your local football club.

After we paid our admission fee, we proceeded to walk to the covered stand which I estimated to house around 50 seats. A very neat structure indeed, Dave took his seat on the end of the front row in the middle of the stand. Before I took my seat, I proceeded to take my usual walk around the ground to take some pictures for my report.

You will see from the following pictures that the ground is a fantastic set up, enjoy the pictures.

A raised terraced area situated to the left of the seated stand.

The goal at the far end of the ground, a brook runs behind this goal and all the way along the side of the pitch opposite the seated stand.

Picture taken from the bottom left corner – a wonderful view as I am sure you will agree.

Picture taken from the opposite corner.

The dugouts – again just look at that view.

My favourite picture that took, in my opinion it shows the true beauty of the ground. You can just about see Dave sitting at the front of the stand.

This is a picture I took of the second snack bar at Hay St. Mary’s, Dave had another cup of tea from here just before half time and I chose to have my second lager of the afternoon. In this snack bar there was some pictures of old Hay St. Mary’s teams, just like the one below.

Hay St. Mary’s Football Club

Forest Road

Hay-on-Wye

Powys

HR3 5DY

Nicknamed the Saints, Hay St. Mary’s Football Club were founded in approximately 1889. Their home colours are green and white striped shirts with green shorts and white socks.

The following information is taken from the excellent Hay St. Mary’s website: www.haystmarysfc.co.uk

It is uncertain when Hay St. Mary’s were formed however, it is known that when the Herefordshire league was formed in 1889, The Saints were then playing in the Mid Wales League, against the likes of Builth, Llandrindod and .

First information available about major honours is that although playing in Wales the club lifted the prestigious Herefordshire Senior Amateur Cup in 1923/24 and again in 1933/34. Things go quiet then until football began again after the war when Hay joined the Herefordshire League along with Monmouth and Presteigne. Some 21 years later further major success came The Saints way in the form of the HFL Junior Cup, defeating Kington Reserves in the final. Two seasons later and Hay were promoted to the Premier League in Herefordshire. In the third season, 1971/72 Hay were winners of the HFL Senior Cup. Another two seasons passed and, after a fantastic run in the Herefordshire County Challenge Cup in which the beat higher graded opponents – Pegasus, Dales (Leominster) and Kington (Mid Wales League) they went on to share the trophy after drawing with Lads Club twice. Both results were 2-2 after extra time, the first being played at Edgar Street and the second at Kington.

A cup treble was completed when Hay beat Builth Wells in the final of the Hay Cup. Knighton Town were also beaten in the final of the Radnorshire Cup 4-3 after extra time.

Another couple of quite seasons and then the Saints were challenging for league honours only to be disappointed when they finished runners up to Llangarron. Defeat at Ross Town in the third week of May handed the title to Llangarron. They did however lift the HFL Senior Cup a few days later when they beat Hinton 2-1. Twelve months later and the Saints were back challenging for the title and this time they were successful when they beat Ross Town on goal average, the difference between the sides being 0.412 of a goal. That same season they again reached the Radnorshire Cup Final where they met Aberystwyth Reserves, but they were unfortunately beaten by a side containing some of their successful first team. In 1980/81 they won the HFL Senior Cup, unfortunately they would soon be relegated to the first division, finishing runners up in 1987/88 they returned to the premier where they stayed for three seasons.

After the end of the 1990/91 season the club left the HFL for Welsh football once again as the Welsh FA were about to ban all Welsh Clubs from playing in England. They joined the Mid Wales League South and in their debut season 1991/92 narrowly missed out on the title to local rivals Vale of Arrow. 1992/93 saw the Saints again finish second this time to .

Following this spell, the club went through a difficult time losing several players. This meant a readjustment and only one side playing in the Brecon League. This team was affectionately known as ‘Sids Kids’ after the club stalwart Sid Wilding who ensured the club kept going at this stage albeit with a very young side. Hay returned to the Mid Wales South in 1997/98 for two seasons before having a season off due to lack of players. In 2000/01 they returned to play under the leadership of Chris Price however, foot and mouth terminated the season early.

In 2001/02 Hay again reached the Radnorshire Cup Final only to lose 4-1 to Rhayader, then of the League of Wales. A period of top six finishes finishes then ensued before finishing in fourth 2006/07.

Season 2007/08 saw Filip Wisniewski take over the managers job however, the league title was just beyond their reach as reformed Rhayader Town won the league and were promoted to the Spar Mid Wales League. Progress was made in both Central Wales Cups, with a 4-1 defeat to eventual winners Penparcau in the Emrys Morgan Semi Final and a defeat in the Quarter Final away at Aberystwyth Reserves in the Quarter Final of the Central Wales Senior Cup. Success was gained however in cup competitions as they won the Sparey Cup, beating Stoke Prior 2-1, Builth Spa Cup, beating hosts Builth Wells 2-1, Brecon Town Cup, beating 3-1 and beating the Saints Sunday side in the Ron Ellis Cup.

So, to season 2008/09, what a season it turned out to be. Not only did the Saints win the League for a second time in three seasons, but they also won the Emrys Morgan Cup for the first time and also got to the Central Wales Senior Cup Final.

Promotion to the Spar Mid Wales was gained following the league win in which the Saints were pushed all the way by local rivals .

In the 2014/15 season under the guidance of manager Gareth Jenkins the Saints finished runners up and were promoted to the Spar Mid Wales League Division One. The Saints also won The Otway Cup beating Rhosgoch Rangers FC 1-0.

The Saints entered the 2015/16 season with three senior sides, a ladies side and over a dozen junior sides.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

At the time of writing this segment of my report (28th December 2018) The Saints currently sit in second place in the Mid Wales League Division Two, three points behind leaders Montgomery Town but with two games in hand. Their overall league record read as follows:

Played 13

Won 10

Drawn 0

Lost 3

Scored 51

Conceded 23

Points 30

This information was taken from www.nonleaguematters.co.uk

Hay St. Marys 5-2 Presteigne St Andrews – Match Statistics

Hay St. Marys Presteigne St. Andrews

Goal Log: No.10 2, 22 Goal Log: No. 2 51,

No.9 33, No.10 84,

No.7 72,

No.6 74,

Attempts: 15 Attempts: 11

On Target: 9 On Target: 5

Corners: 4 Corners: 1

Offsides: 4 Offsides: 0

Yellows: 2 Yellows: 2

Reds: 0 Reds: 0

Match Report

The home side won this battle of the ‘Saints’ quite comfortably through good football and finishing, Presteigne did have good spells of possession during the game but could not find that that telling pass in the final third of the pitch.

The Saints took the lead in the second minute of the game, their impressive number 10 fired a left foot half volley home from twenty yards into the bottom left corner of the goal.

Presteigne almost got back on level terms in the 10th minute, unfortunately for them their attempt at goal was cleared off the line.

Hay then took control of the game, in the 16th minute the number 10 produced a good run and shot to match, the ball ending up going wide of the far post.

A good passing move in the 22nd minute saw Hay go 2-0 up, the number 10 grabbing his second of the game with a neat finish. The number 10 almost grabbed his hat-trick goal five minutes later, clean through he tried to round the on-rushing goalkeeper, the Presteigne custodian did well to prevent his team going 3-0 down by bravely diving at the feet of the Hay centre forward and taking the ball away from him.

Hay did however take a 3-0 lead in the 33rd minute of the game. The referee (who I thought was excellent throughout the game) gave an indirect free-kick in the Presteigne penalty area for a back pass. Hay took the subsequent free-kick quickly and their number 9 found the bottom left corner of the goal with a well taken shot.

Hay were correctly awarded a penalty in the 45th minute, the Hay number 9 stepped up to take the penalty and unleashed a powerful left foot shot towards the left corner of the goal which was excellently saved by the visiting goalkeeper to keep his side in the game.

Half Time: Hay St. Mary’s 3-0 Presteigne St. Andrews

First Half Action

Second Half

In the 55th minute, Hay’s number 10 almost made the game safe, clean through on goal he shot wide of the target.

Two minutes later and the visitors were back in the game, a cross from the right flank was glanced home with the slightest of touches by their number 2.

Following this goal Presteigne looked a different team, they had a penalty appeal turned down in the 69th minute and two minutes later they struck the bar of the Hay goal with a terrific long range free- kick from their number 15.

Unfortunately for the away side, Hay scored their 4th of the game on 72 minutes. The Presteigne goalkeeper who was the hero in the first half misjudged a through ball, rushing from his goal he misjudged his clearance, the ball fell to the Hay number 7 who made no mistake scoring from 35 yards into an unguarded goal.

The home side put the game beyond any doubt in the 74th minute by scoring their 5th of the game. Their number 6 found himself clean through on goal and fired the ball home off the inside of the far post. To, their credit Presteigne never let their head drop and grabbed their second goal of the game on 87 minutes. A free-kick taken by their number 10 was deflected on route to goal wrong footing the Hay goalkeeper.

Final Score: Hay St. Mary’s 5-2 Presteigne St. Andrews

Hay attacking the away goal in the second half

The Hay number 7 prepares to take a second half free-kick. Conclusion

A really enjoyable first visit to Hay St. Mary’s Football Club, a really friendly and welcoming club. It was good to bump into Paul Proctor again who I first met at Stourport Swifts earlier this season. I again enjoyed to chatting some hoppers who I had met at my previous two games at Wellington and Pegasus Juniors respectively. Lastly thanks must go to Carl, who like the other hoppers I met at my two previous outings. Carl helps out Hay St. Mary’s Football Club and he kept me informed of the weather leading up to the match and the state of the pitch, provided me with the club address and kindly gave me a mince pie upon on my arrival to the ground.

My next game will be on 29th December – FC V FC.