If you’re hunting for in-form teams in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup first round this weekend, there’s no need to look much further than Goytre AFC.
The SWWGL Combined (Tier 3) outfit have won all 10 of their matches in all competitions this season, scoring 74 goals and conceding just six. But their hardest challenge so far this term comes as they host Genero Adran South side Carmarthen Town in cup action on Sunday.
“We’re having an incredible season,” Goytre manager Josh Corbett says. “We take it one game at a time. We don’t look too far in advance. Our focus this weekend is Carmarthen.”
Sunday’s clash is a repeat of last season’s tie in Round One, when Jasmine Guymer’s late finish saw Carmarthen narrowly beat Goytre 1-0 at Plough Road.
A lot has changed since then for Goytre. Having won the SWWGL Alun Evans League Cup last season, they’ve taken momentum into this campaign currently sit second in the league – only behind Johnstown who have played two games more.
Bute Energy Welsh Cup
Fixtures and results
It’s a Goytre squad that has top level experience in abundance, with a number of players formerly of Abergavenny in the top-flight. Prolific goalscorer Lyndsey Davies, who holds several records in the Welsh Premier Women’s League, has been back on the pitch, while midfielder Ceri Hudson, defenders Shauna Pentney, Abi Powell, and Meg McVey, and forward Lauren Daniels are all formerly of Abergavenny.
They face a Camarthen side who beat Ponthir in the Second Qualifying Round to reach this stage of the competition, with Goytre overcoming Trefelin in the last round. Corbett’s side have already beaten second tier opposition this season, triumphing 4-1 against Cambrian United in the First Qualifying Round.
“We’re super excited to be in the First Round Proper,” Corbett says. “It’s such an incredible achievement to get to the first round because we’ve beat two good teams in the qualifying rounds.”
“Carmarthen will be the best team we’ve faced this season, but it’s a challenge we’re really excited for.
“We played them last year and we lost narrowly 1-0, and the year before we played them in the (SWWGL Alun Evans) Cup final and lost 4-3, so we know how talented Carmarthen are.”
Bute Energy Welsh Cup Preview Show
Look ahead to the Round One ties
Having joined from Cardiff Met earlier this year, 19-year-old midfielder Millie Lewis has become a regular at Goytre, and scored four times in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup for Met last year against Ystradgynlais.
Lewis made her senior debut in the Genero Adran Premier in 2025, and is now enjoying being part of an unbeaten Goytre side in the SWWGL.
“I’ve absolutely loved it at Goytre,” Lewis explained. “It’s such a good group of girls. I feel like I’ve developed as a person as well as a player. We’ve had such a good season and we’re on such a positive run.
“It’s definitely going to be a competitive game. Carmarthen’s going to be a battle, they’re going to be so up for it as well since they won against Cwmbran on penalties in the Adran Trophy, so they’re going to be on a high.”
With ‘The Goats’ right in the mix for promotion to the Genero Adran Leagues, they also remain in all cup competitions that they are involved in.
The reward of progressing to Round Two of the Bute Energy Welsh Cup could involve a test against Genero Adran Premier opposition as clubs from the top flight enter the competition at the next stage.
“Like we’ve said, we know how hard the challenge is to beat Carmarthen,” Corbett says. “The reward of beating Carmarthen from all the girls’ hard work wouldn’t deserve anything less than facing an Adran Premier team, that would be the icing on the cake of beating another good team on the run we’ve had.
“We want to experience playing the best girls there are in Wales. We want to test ourselves. That’s why you enter the Welsh Cup, because you want to play against the best teams in this competition.”
