by Julia Cook
Swansea Uni FC have beaten Cardiff Met FC in one of the most significant games of the season. Met, who are currently in second place in the Welsh Premier League, are chasing a lucrative spot in European Football after narrowly missing out last season.
However, their squad, which contained 6 players that defeated a fully professional Bangor city on Saturday in the WPL, still couldn’t see off Swansea on Wednesday in a game that ended in an incredible win for the home side.
Swansea, who play their BUCS games at Swansea City first team training headquarters at Fairwood, defeated the current British BUCS Cup champions 2-1.
Current club captain, Freddie Lewedon, was overjoyed with the win, “Wednesday’s huge win proves the levels we are capable of now as a club and will be the perfect foundation for us to build on”.
Marley Bishop Wisdom, a former pro player for Bristol City, fits his economics studies around playing in the Welsh and BUCS leagues. After scoring both the goals for the home side yesterday he reveled in the remarkable win; “A win such as this against a successful WPL side shows how far Swansea University FC model has come and the direction in which it is going”.
The victory becomes even more impressive when you consider the fact that in December 2015 Swansea were in bottom place in both BUCS division 1 and the Swansea Senior Domestic League on a Saturday.
Some credit must be given to University Head coach and director of football Dafydd Evans, a Swansea city coach who joined the University in November 2015 as part of the partnership between the Swans and the University, after 16 years coaching professionally in USA.
He has successfully seen the team win the Swansea Division 1 title 2016/17, the play off final for the Welsh League, BUCS Division 1 title, play off final for Bucs Premier League, West Wales cup Champions at Liberty Stadium as well as retaining the Varsity championship vs rivals Cardiff for the third consecutive year.
Today, they are joint top of the Premiere BUCS Football League in the South, which boasts another 4 previous British Champions, and pushing towards top spot in the Welsh Football Domestic League pyramid Division 3.
He talks about the incredible effort that has led to the impressive rise. “The early work in 2016 was to initially restructure the whole culture at the University, to have the correct standards, professionalism and dedication. Sports Swansea staff past and present have also played a big part in the transition and modernization. The players have bought into the full time model of Wed and Saturday participation wonderfully and are reaping the rewards. They are really doing the University and the Swansea City partnership proud.”
It could not have been done without the players of course, who have worked tirelessly in training and games to get this far.
Nick Hyden, current BUCS captain, who has been a four year starter and Welsh University international player, was overwhelmed with the win. “This has come from years of work from the players and staff. Most University programs start training in late September, our players return from all over the world to start their University FC dedication and training in June in preparation for a higher level of competition in the Welsh League and BUCS so yesterday is a little reward for that ”
It’s not just the current players and staff that are celebrating. Long time captain of the club Joe Palmer is delighted with the win. “The rise of the last three years has been beyond what any of us thought was possible and makes me and all graduates so proud.”
