Take a look through Guilsfield’s starting XI for their 8-5 victory over Felinheli in the Bute Energy Welsh Cup First Qualifying Roud and patterns begin to emerge.
First, there is the youthful nature. The average age of the team was just 17.9. Second, is the fact that nine of the 11 starters were part of The New Saints’ academy set-up last season – making the move to newly-formed Guilsfield in the summer after the Saints’ Under-19s side ceased to exist.
One of those players is Ella Burton, daughter of Matt Burton – a former player and manager of Guilsfield’s men’s team. Now, he has been instrumental in the creation of a new, flourishing women’s side in mid-Wales.
“The girls wanted to carry on playing together [after leaving TNS] but they had nowhere to play,” Burton explains. “What is really difficult is to go into an established team and plug in 10 players because they’ve already got a squad of 15 or 16 anyway.
“I obviously know Guilsfield very well. It’s a family club, a progressive club, and exciting to be a part of. The girls are enjoying being part of a new team and they’ve been welcomed by the whole committee.”
It has been an impressive start to the campaign for the newly-formed side, who currently sit top of the Central Wales Women’s League (tier three), having won all of their opening four league games – scoring 34 goals and conceding just one in the process.
Guilsfield use their youth to their advance, but their teenage crop are also complemented by the knowhow and experience of Jo Bliss-Bennett (39 years old) and Georgia Tranchard (29) who joined from Welshpool Town.
Bute Energy Welsh Cup
“We recruited Jo and Georgia and they have been brilliant for experience,” Burton says. “But they have missed a few games and then our oldest player on the pitch is 19 years old. Because the girls started playing at a younger age than maybe a lot of players in the league, their athleticism and ability is shining through.
“The environment is great and it’s a fun group to work with. They’re a group of girls who just want to play, which is the way it should be. They’re friends outside of football too.
“I think we would compete in tier two if we were able to get up this year. That would be a really good level for them to play at. We want girls to develop with us and play as high as they can.”
There is merit behind those aspirations too. The thrilling 8-5 win over Genero Adran North side Felinheli in the last round of the Bute Energy Welsh Cup proved that Guilsfield could more than hold their own against second tier opposition.
“It was an end to end game, it was comfortable for us really, but we made it a bit of a basketball game,” Burton says. “But that comes with a bit of experience as well, which we’ll hopefully start to learn this year.”
The Second Qualifying Round sees Guilsfield make another trip to Gwynedd as they have been drawn away at fellow third tier side Caernarfon Town, who were 17-1 winners over Prestatyn Sports in the previous round.
“It sounds really cheesy, but as long as we perform well, the result will take care of itself,” Burton says, looking ahead to the tie. “If we play well and get beat, we’ll have been beaten by a better team.
“It’s all about gaining more understanding, learning to be a little bit more aggressive and win in different ways. At the moment, we’re winning because we’re playing good football, but when you come up against stronger teams, we might have to change a little bit. It’s all part of the girls’ development.”
The standout performer so far this season has been 16-year-old Ella Breese, who was part of the TNS side who reached the Bute Energy U16s Cup Final last season where they lost to Briton Ferry Llansawel.
The forward has scored 10 goals in four league appearances so far, while against Felinheli in the last round of the cup, she scored four and assisted three of her team’s eight goals.
“She’s very good,” Burton says of Breese. “She’s aggressive in terms of running with the ball. She’s got pace, she certainly knows where the back of the net is, and she’s still only 16 so she’s got loads of learning to do.
“She’s certainly a talent and if she keeps on going the way she’s going, clubs in higher leagues will be looking at her and that’s football. We’re lucky to have her. She’s a great girl, great person, and she’s a talented footballer. She benefits from some really good through balls and some really good running off the ball to create space. So she’s part of a good team that all complement each other.”
Having made such a strong start to the campaign, Guilsfield have their sights set on a league title in their inaugural season but their ambitions do not stop there.
With a clear model to develop young players, the club aims to be the perfect place for those who may not be ready for the top-flight yet but still have clear potential to be – as the current squad can attest to.
“We want to win the league,” Burton says. “Every team in every league, you go into it to win it. So we definitely want to try and achieve that, add a few more numbers, more experience, so the squad is consistent.
“We want to compete at tier two, be consistent at that level and maybe feed some players into the Adran Premier. You don’t want to lose your best players, but part of your job as a coach is to develop players and help them move on. If we do that, other players may come to us as they see it as a good place for their development.”
