Media Reports of Last Weekend

Martyrs on a high after back-to-back promotions
Merthyr Express

THE fans’ faces say it all... this was the joyful moment when Merthyr Town secured promotion after fighting back from collapse two years ago. More than 800 fans packed Penydarren Park to watch star striker Ryan Prosser score the goal which landed the back-from-the-brink club a lift for the second year running.

Prosser’s 23rd goal of the campaign secured the Toolstation Western League Premier Division title, to the delight of the crowd. The win means the Martyrs will compete in the Evo-Stik Southern League next season, bidding to return to the Premier Division where they had plied their trade until the club’s debts led to liquidation in 2010.

Club chairman Geoff Chinnock said everyone was overjoyed with the club’s remarkable progress since the dark days when the gates of Penydarren Park were locked for what seemed like the last time two years ago.

“We are riding the crest of a wave at the moment, these are fantastic times at the club,” he said.

“We always get a good following but we have a lot of people who have not been to Penydarren Park for years who are coming back. Last Saturday we had about 800 in the ground. It is testament to the progress we have made.”

The supporters-owned club had to work hard for their win against Ilfracombe Town who they had previously beaten 5-0 in the away fixture two weeks ago.

And Mr Chinnock admitted that it was a tougher outing than many had expected.

“It was about getting the job done – it was not what we expected after the result the week before,” he said. “Everyone was delighted to have won. It is a double celebration to go up two years running. The Candac Suite at the club was packed after the game, we must have had about 200 people and there was quite a bit of champagne.”

The celebrations were followed by the club’s annual awards night, at which Ian Traylor won the title of Supporters’ Player of the Year and central defender Andrew Thomas scooped the Player of the Year award. And the celebrations didn’t end there.

An end-of-season dinner is set to take place in Torquay next month to toast the club’s success ahead of next season.

“We will come back after that to look at planning for next season and the budget we have,” Mr Chinnock said. “I think the key for this season was that we learnt a lot from last season when we were not really physical enough and we will try and learn again for the next campaign.”

Jamie Mack, club secretary, said: “It was a fantastic day. It has been a long hard slog this season and I did not expect to go up again. We were all waiting for a goal in the game and it was quite nerve-wracking as we left it fairly late, but everyone was delighted in the end. I think the key for next season will be to keep the squad of players we have at the moment and we might have to look at adding a few extra too. Hopefully we can increase the level of support which means we can generate more income. We have definitely noticed that in the last six weeks more and more people have been turning out. I am confident for next season. It is a tough ask to expect another promotion, but I do think we can make the play-offs.”