UNLUCKY 13 FOR THE MARTYRS

I do have to admit that I have been in a team that got walloped 13-2 once. It was Collyer's GS U14 v Thomas Bennett School of Crawley U15s. Most of our team were U13s, quite good ones, and the teacher in charge of the U15s decided that he would put a number of us young ones into his side that was not very good. It was a Saturday morning at home, sunny Horsham, and the Crawley boys were huge and quite good. Crawley was a London overspill new town and the kids in the "comprehensive" were street wise. Not sure how we managed to score 2 but they definitely walked in 13.

Merthyr Town FC, known locally as the Martyrs, may be feeling the same today as they look back at the weekend where their team was thumped 13-1 by Chesham United. The Welsh lads were away from home, a six hour bus trip to Bucks and for the Evo-Stick Southern Premier League team, who were about half way in the division before this drubbing, it was a long way home.

The reason for the thumping was that the majority of the Merthyr 1st team walked out over payment issues, so the club officials dug their heels in and recruited the youth team, including 15 year old Ed Hewitson in goal. I'm not sure that playing an Under 16 at this level is legal but there you have it. Hewitson made a number of great saves and at the end of the game he was cheered off the field as Man of the Match.

Towards the end of the game the whole team ran to salute Jacob Flower who brought the gap down by scoring the one and only Merthyr goal with 7 minutes to go.

Merthyr Town FC was founded in 1909. The Welsh clubs then joined the Football League in 1920-1 with Cardiff runners up in Division 2 and Swansea 5th in Div 2, Merthyr 8th and Newport 15th. Cardiff then stormed up Division 1 in 1921-2 coming 4th. The rest joined the Third Division as the FL expanded; Wrexham in Div 3 North and Swansea, Merthyr and Newport in Div 3 South along with Aberdare Athletic. Aberdare came last in 1926-7 and disappeared from the Football League
Merthyr , having beaten Newport County in the 1987 Welsh Cup Final, then beat Atlanta in the European Cup Winners Cup First Round first leg at home 2-1, losing 0-2 away.

Town folded in 1934 being replaced by Merthyr Tydfil FC in 1945, which itself was liquidated in 2010 and reformed as Merthyr Town FC.