Afan United make the short journey to Briton Ferry Llansawel in Round 2 of the FAW Welsh Cup on Friday night live on Cymru Football TV for what will be the biggest match in their brief history (7:45pm).
“It’s great for us,” explained manager Vince Lewis to FAW.cymru this week. “It wouldn’t happen any other way; I wouldn’t even expect them to give us a friendly because of the gulf in the two leagues. But we’re not going there to make up the numbers, we’ll have a game plan, and I know the character of my players.”
Top-flight test
Afan United are currently fourth in the Highadmit Projects South Wales Premier Division (Tier 4). Friday presents their toughest and highest-profile challenge yet as they on Novira Cymru Premier opponents for what will be their first-ever competitive match against a top division side.
“We’ve had a chat in training,” Lewis added. “There’s a lot of youngsters who will never have played a game of this magnitude, and because of that they won’t be used to the intensity, the tempo, the fitness levels or the physicality. But they will need to adapt, and quickly.
Afan United manager Vince Lewis has a game plan in place for Briton Ferry Llansawel
“I’ve just told them to play your game, forget about the crowd, forget about anything else. It’s easier said than done, but I’m confident that the boys will deal with it and work hard. They always have. They’ve always shown good character, and as long as we show that on Friday night, it will take us where it takes us.”
Afan United have scored an impressive 12 goals in the opening three rounds of the Welsh Cup this season, defeating Cwrt Y Vil 2-0 and Waunarlwydd Galaxy 6-2 in the qualifying rounds before beating Penygraig United 4-3 at the impressive new Sean McCreesh Memorial Ground in Round 1.
Progress on and off the field
Although Afan United were only formed in 2020, the club from Port Talbot have made significant strides forward both on and off the field. In addition to four promotions, this season marked the opening of their new £1.1m stadium that provides a fantastic facility for more than 220 registered players.
The renovation of the derelict facility on Aberavon Beach was delivered through funding from the Cymru Football Foundation (CFF), Welsh Government, Neath Port Talbot Council and the club’s own fundraising efforts. With brand new off-field amenities, it has become a modern football hub for the whole local community.
“We have five junior age groups for boys and four for girls,” explained Chairman Remi Whitelock. “This year, with the new stadium, we have started a boys youth team and a women’s senior team, with a women’s youth team next on our agenda. We also host toddlers and mini-football for over 70 children every week.”
The stadium is named after Sean McCreesh, who was joint-manager alongside Lewis when the team were formed, but he sadly passed away a year later. The contribution of both important figures has been recognised at the new stadium, with the clubhouse opened as The Vince Lewis Pavilion.
“Yeah, I was a bit shocked at that,” said Lewis. “I was very emotional at the beginning, but it’s great. As for the stadium, to have our own identity throughout the club, our own home when our teams used to be like nomads before, it’s fantastic. It’s helped us trying to sign players because it’s a great playing surface and facility.”
A football home for generations to come
The McCreesh name lives on at Afan United through Sean’s son Rory, who alongside Whitelock played an important role in the new stadium coming into fruition. “They had a vision and a dream and they’ve seen it through,” Lewis added. “It will be there for generations to come and will give children a pathway to senior football.”
Lewis continues to run the team and brings plenty of experience to the role having previously managed Afan Lido, the club that actually share a boundary wall with Afan United. When we sat down with Remi, Rory and Secretary Tom Davies for an earlier feature back in 2023, they explained the club’s origins and initial ambitions.
Just three years later, the club is almost unrecognisable, but there are elements in place that ensure the original spirit and basis for the team has not been lost. “We were mindful of keeping the nucleus of the people who got us where we are,” Lewis added. “To not lose the lifeblood of the club, and I think we’ve done that.”
A bright future
A mix of youth and experience has been behind their success in these early weeks of the season, with summer signings Leon Rayner, Jenson Livick and Lewis Boxall all impressing. However, Rayner will miss Friday’s match through suspension, along with former Trefelin midfielder Ben Thomas.
“I thought we signed well and the boys are still bedding in as we try to get a settled side together and a way of playing,” Lewis added. “We’re still building, but our aim is promotion and to keep building the club underneath that as well. To keep growing the junior section, our volunteers and our committee.
The late Sean McCreesh continues to smile over Afan United
“It takes a lot of hard work to run this as our own entity, but luckily, we have some great people in the background who give their time to run the junior teams and help us out on match days.”
As our interview comes to an end, outside another wave of youngsters in Afan United tops are going through their coaching drills. We leave through the main gate which an image of Sean McCreesh now adorns.
“I’m very proud when I’m opening up and locking up and he’s looking down at me smiling,” Lewis adds. “We want to do well by him because he’s definitely looking down on us. He was a football man through and through. He would have loved all of this, and he would have loved what’s coming Friday night.”
