Family ties fuel JD Welsh Cup dream for New Inn AFC

There has been only one topic of conversation for in the Richards family since the draw was made for the second round of the JD Welsh Cup.

Gareth Richards is manager of New Inn AFC, who are preparing for the biggest game in their 88-year history when they host JD Cymru Premier side Briton Ferry Llansawel on Saturday (KO 2pm).

“I was like a kid on Christmas Eve watching the draw with my son,” Richards explained to FAW.cymru this week. “I don’t think we could have wished for anything better than a Cymru Premier side at home so it’s going be a real day of celebration for us. It really is going be fantastic day for the club and we’re really looking forward to welcoming Briton Ferry to Woodfield Road.

“It’s definitely created a buzz in the community, so much so that if all the people who I’ve been speaking to over the last few days come down then we’re really going to struggle to accommodate them all! But my message to the community is to come out in force to support the boys and really cheer us on. The boys fully deserve it, and let’s see if we can make the dream of going even further in this competition a reality.”

Formed in 1936, New Inn AFC are an established name on the Gwent football circuit, and the Richards name features heavily in the current setup. While Gareth successfully takes care of first team management duties, his son Rico plays in the centre of defence alongside his uncle, Gareth’s brother Anthony, who is also the club chairman. Rather than become a football widow, Gareth’s wife Sharon is the treasurer, while their daughter Ellie plays her part serving refreshments at their Woodfield Road ground on matchdays.

Having previously managed the reserve side at Goytre AFC, Gareth was tempted back into coaching just over four years ago by Anthony who was captain of New Inn at the time. He was joined by coach Chris Perry and in their first full season after the pandemic they gained promotion as champions of the Gwent County League First Division. The club has since proved their worth in the Gwent County League Premier Division (tier four) with two sixth-place finishes.

“Honestly, it’s a struggle to put what we’ve achieved into words,” Richards explained. “I’m really just incredibly proud. I wasn’t going to get involved in coaching again, but I was lucky that a group of players who I coached previously, including my son and a few others, decided that they wanted to come back together and train. We had a very, very strong winning ethos at junior level. We won everything there was to win, but to then achieve a league title at senior level with that group of boys was incredible.”

Currently sitting mid-table in the Gwent County League Premier Division table, New Inn have warmed-up for their huge JD Welsh Cup tie with two impressive results – defeating Coed Eva Athletic and Wattsville 4-0 and 8-1 respectively. Alex Davies is the in-form goalscorer for the side with 15 goals in all competitions this season, while the club also boast a Development Team, an U18 Team, a number of junior teams and a thriving mini-section that all take to the field every weekend.

“We did lose around six players to higher league opposition and they’re doing really well for their clubs, but it left us short,” said Richards. “We’ve promoted a couple of boys from our youth team and they’ve been absolutely fantastic, culminating in this fantastic run we’re having in the Welsh Cup. It feels like it means more to them because they’ve come through the youth ranks. They give me everything every week and I couldn’t be prouder. They fully deserve all the adulation they’re getting at the moment.”

Reaching this stage of the JD Welsh Cup has not been straightforward for New Inn either. Drawn against teams from the higher Ardal Leagues in each of the first three rounds, the side had to come from behind to defeat both Tredegar and Evans & Williams by 3-2 scorelines, before needing a penalty shoot-out at Woodfield Road to eliminate Abertillery Bluebirds following a 1-1 draw. The financial injection of prize money and extra gate receipts from their success is also contributing to their progress off the field.

“I couldn’t put into words what this cup run has enabled us to do,” Richards added. “All of our players pay annual subscriptions, they pay to play for our club. Now we can enhance the ground with important drainage, improve the pitch, our clubhouse and our general facilities to get us to that Tier 3 standard. We are committed to getting to the next level and the money from this cup run is invaluable to that.”

But not even heavy rain in the days leading up to the match can dampen the spirits of a family club determined to enjoy their moment in the sun. “The rain has everybody panicking!” said Richards checking his weather app. “The WhatsApp group is pinging and pinging. Hopefully Thursday and Friday will be drier, but our groundsman has done some fantastic work on the pitch recently, so we can only hope!”

Fixtures

JD Welsh Cup

Photos courtesy of New Inn AFC

Learn more from FA Wales

Sign up to receive all things FAW, from team news, tickets, domestic, grassroots, to exclusive offers and prize draws.

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data – view our privacy policy by clicking here.