Shama Deadman’s journey into management continues now, as his second season at Cambrian & Clydach kicks off in earnest. In the previous chapter, he signed several new players over the summer – and convinced his star man to stay for another crack at promotion to the Cymru Premier.
Today’s installment will take you through the first 12 matches of the new Cymru South campaign. Cambrian’s captain is about to steal the headlines… but not for the right reasons.
AUGUST 2021
Our league season got off to a frustrating start at home to Afan Lido. Though we were perhaps the slightly better team, both sides had their fair share of chances, but neither could break the deadlock.
Goalscoring wasn’t such an issue for us at Undy, especially with captain Ceri Morgan delivering his most productive half of football yet. Just moments after setting up Liam Edwards for a classy opener in the 24th minute, he created an even more spectacular strike for Ryan Prosser!
But that was as good as it got. Our defence dozed off to give Undy a goal back in the 29th minute, and another lapse in concentration saw our lead disappear early in the second half. We were lucky to escape with a 2-2 draw, but it felt like a defeat, especially with attacking midfielder Lewis Ellis suffering a serious knee injury.
At least Edwards’ knees were still in full working order. His half-volley from summer signing Callum Sainty‘s direct ball made it third time lucky, as we battled past Cwmbran Celtic to get our first win on the board. It wasn’t plain sailing, as our passing got sloppy late in the first half and I had to bang heads together to keep us focussed in the second.
Unfortunately, we then suffered our first defeat at home to Haverfordwest. Though we put up a fight against the former Cymru Premier outfit, they eventually broke through midway through the second half. Teenage striker Jamie Wilson thought he’d drawn us level late on, but the offside flag condemned us to defeat.
And so, just like last season, we had picked up five points from our first four matches, leaving us in 9th. For a team with promotion ambitions, that was not a convincing start. We would need some strong leadership to get us back on track.
SEPTEMBER 2021
What we didn’t need was for our leader to abandon us on deadline day.
Despite making an encouraging start to his season, Captain Morgan decided to jump ship to Goytre United, who were a point ahead of us. I felt somewhat betrayed after Ceri had signed a new non-contract deal with us in June, but that’s the risk you take not having your most influential players on permanent contracts.
After Morgan’s exit, I promoted Kyle Jones to the captaincy. While I had doubts over the midfielder’s determination and consistency, Kyle was basically the least-bad option I had. Ellis would take Jones’ place as vice-captain once he had recovered from injury, with defender Jarrad Wright next in line.
Meanwhile, I brought in two new midfielders. Youngster Jack Fox might have been relegated with Taffs Well last season, but I was confident that he could add some extra creativity and athleticism to the team.
I then plumped for the vast experience of Simon Heslop to be our new deep-lying playmaker. The much-travelled Yorkshireman has played in the English Football League for several teams (most notably Oxford), and even at 34, he still has plenty more to give.
Heslop didn’t take long to make his mark, assisting Wilson for our final goal in a 3-1 win over newly-promoted amateurs Cardiff Draconians. That was Jamie’s second goal of the day, with Dracs cancelling out his opener before Wright restored our advantage.
Wilson went quiet in our next away game, as we slogged out a goalless draw with Pontypridd. Wright was excellent in defence, though he almost cost us dear by giving away a penalty in the 81st minute. Thankfully, Harry Churchill saved the spot-kick to save us a point.
We made the worst possible start at home to Llantwit Major, conceding in the first 13 seconds, before Prosser equalised in the 7th minute. That would be our only shot on target in another poor game, as we again struggled to create chances on our own turf.
A 1-1 draw wasn’t terrible, but I was now seriously questioning whether the ‘Christmas tree’ was the right home tactic. That wasn’t the only thing I was having serious doubts about, though.
So… I fined Jordan Cotterill a week’s wages after he had a dreadful game in attacking midfield. Most of my players take this on the chin and vow to make amends, but not Jordan. He refused to pay up, I dropped him to the Under-19s as punishment, one thing led to another… and we ended up having a huge fist fight in my office.
Boy… that escalated quickly. Three matches, and then he’s gone. To be fair, I should have known that Jordan had a short fuse. I won’t make that mistake again!
As the dust settled, we finished the month by playing back-to-back away games against Captain Morgan’s new club Goytre United. The first was in Round 3 of the League Cup, and a cup-tied Ceri missed an absolute classic.
It was an unforgettable night for our 16-year-old left-winger Jamie French, who scored his first two senior goals. The first was a stunning volley from defender Harry Blake‘s first-time cross, and the second was a much scrappier equaliser after Goytre had gone 2-1 up. The match finished 2-2, but the drama was only just starting.
The penalty shoot-out saw both teams convert their first 10 penalties before Goytre finally blinked and Churchill pulled off the first save. Now he would surely score his pen to send us into the Quarter Finals…
…or perhaps not. This epic shoot-out continued for another two rounds, until Sainty’s second penalty – our unlucky 13th – was stopped by the Goytre keeper. United won 12-11, but we would be back at Glenhaford Park five days later looking for revenge in the league.
Sadly, revenge was not on the menu. Goytre United scored after just three minutes as Morgan and Co totally outclassed us for the first half-hour. It got so bad that I substituted Fox for youth winger Daniel John in the 28th minute and switched from the 4-3-2-1 to a 4-4-2.
Though Goytre scored again immediately after my tactical changes, we then showed a marked improvement. We were playing more direct, and with more purpose, and had several chances in the second half. Only one of them was converted (by Wilson, after a one-two with Edwards) but at least we could take something from this 2-1 loss.
With eight matches gone, we were six points clear of the drop. While we had made a much better start to this season than last, we were still nowhere near the top, and another disappointing month would surely kill off our promotion hopes already.
OCTOBER 2021
There’s a reason why the 4-3-2-1 has fallen out of fashion – and why it’s hardly ever used in semi-pro football. It’s a midfield-heavy tactic which lacks a lot of attacking width, and so it demands a lot of your wing-backs. With all due respect to Marcus Snell and Jake Nicholls, they’re not exactly the Rhondda’s answer to Roberto Carlos or Cafu.
I might come back to the Christmas tree at another time with a better team, but now it’s time to bring it down… and replace it with a less outdated and more typical non-league tactic.
This isn’t a pretty tactic, let’s face it – but simply being ‘pretty’ doesn’t win you games. I just care about us doing the basics right. This system should keep us solid at the back while also allowing us to counter-attack more directly and stretch play out a bit more when necessary.
It also allows me to give French and Ellis regular action on the wing, with talisman Edwards moving further upfield to support our poacher. Though mainly used in attacking midfield, Liam is also accomplished in the striker position, and his attribute spread makes him an effective pressing forward.
October got off to a bright start, with a dominant display at rock-bottom Abertillery Excelsior. Edwards was involved in all three goals, delivering a fine cross to Wilson and an even better corner to Wright before capping his marvellous display by volleying in Kyle Jones’ long ball over the top.
We weren’t so marvellous when Swansea University came to town. A scrappy 9th-minute opener for Ellis was cancelled out by Swansea just two minutes later, and we couldn’t find it in us to restore our lead. Two more points dropped at home.
We badly needed to improve our home record, and the visit of non-league Baglan Dragons in Round 1 of the Welsh Cup gave us the perfect opportunity. Despite wasting an early penalty, Edwards made amends a few minutes later to break the deadlock. A first senior assist from youth-team winger Christopher Williams then helped French complete a 2-0 win, which should’ve been even more comfortable.
My 50th match as Cambrian manager was another five-goal thriller, at Carmarthen. The Old Gold had a massive squad clearout after missing out on promotion back to the Cymru Premier last season, and after a shocking start, they were firmly battling relegation.
Edwards pounced on some shocking defending to fire us ahead after 20 minutes, only for Carmarthen to retaliate seven minutes later. They then got another swift equaliser after Ellis restored our lead in the 75th minute. However, it was third time lucky when midfielder Joshua Williams came off the bench to head Snell’s cross home and finally secure us the win!
Then came the Rhondda derby. Ton Pentre might have knocked us out of the Welsh Cup last season, but Wilson ensured we took the spoils this time with goals in either half. At the other end, Churchill was brilliant and kept a clean sheet against the Bulldogs! OHHHHH YES!
Those were Wilson’s 7th and 8th goals of the season, in his 12th appearance. The 17-year-old had already usurped Prosser to be our first-choice striker, and he was also attracting interest from the top flight.
A week before his latest brace, Cefn Druids attempted to sign Wilson. On loan. As a backup. And they would pay a few pennies less for not playing him than they would if he did! Obviously, I said no!
I mean… who did they take me for? Did they think I was just some gullible idiot? I was about to win my second Manager of the Month award, for crying out loud!
October had been a month to remember, taking us up to 7th and putting us right back in the promotion picture. There are plenty of reasons for optimism as we head into the next chapter of this story… but before I leave you, there’s something I wanna show you!
My first coaching badge! GET IN!
I’ve also had a little Reputation boost, from 5% to 10% (that’s 0.5 stars out of 5, to put it another way). I’m now on a par with most other managers in the Cymru North/South, and even a couple in the Premier too.
So, might I be headhunted by a bigger team soon? It’s possible, but unlike Captain Morgan, I am still committed to the Cambrian cause. I’m not going anywhere just yet.
Shama has his first qualification in the bag, and his Cambrian team are back in form after another shaky start. It all bodes well for a promotion push, doesn’t it?
This story will continue on Friday, as the 2021/2022 season reaches its midway point and the Cam Army look to keep marching on towards the Cymru Premier. Hopefully, their captain won’t do a sudden about-turn this time!
Thanks for reading.
(P.S. Apologies for the delay in posting this chapter. I had planned to publish it last Friday evening, but in light of a major news story that broke in midday, I didn’t think it was appropriate.)
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