How the league was won: Season review 2003/2004

A severely under-strength Sebastopol team kicked off the season with a fine 7-1 victory over Fairfield United. Missing a large number of the first team squad due to holidays, injury and miscellaneous absences the team were relieved and reassured to record a 7-1 win in a potentially tricky game.
The second game was a midweek fixture against main championship rivals Usk Town. Heavily fancied for the league title, Sebastopol again struggling for a team and would have beforehand have been happy to take a point. The team exceeded all expectations and a much under-strength side produced a superb 2-1 victory. Goalkeeper Steve O’Dwyer had a particularly outstanding game between the posts to ensure his side came away with maximum points.

The injuries and absence finally took their toll in the third game when the lads came unstuck at home to Clydach Wasps. A patched up side consisting of a mixture of first and second team players, and only a single substitute (who himself was injured and unfit to play!) lost by four goals to one, inflicting a first defeat of the season.
The following week a number of players returned and became available for selection. A visit to Llanarth saw James Jackson make his first appearance of the season, scoring six goals in the process, demonstrating how fundamental he is to the team.
The following week saw a further two players return from injury. Midfielder Lee Jones and defender Ronnie Walker both made their first appearance, helping the side to a superb 5-1 win over Cwmffrwdoer and Sebast began to look forward to what was to eventually prove a highly rewarding season.

The following week’s fixture was a tough home game against a strong Goytre side. The game ended 2-2 in what was a physical but good-spirited game. Bad weather caused an unexpected break in the fixture list, and a welcome weeks rest due to a waterlogged pitch. However, the break was to prove significant to Sebastopol who, upon return a fortnight later, discovered three players had signed for rival clubs! This did not deter the team who went on a fantastic run throughout the next four games, scoring 24 goals in the process and conceding only four. Now firmly established as a forerunner for the league title, Sebastopol quickly became the team to beat.

Next up were Mardy, who played host to an again understrength Sebastopol side. A fine performance by Sebastopol resulted in a 4-1 victory, including two goals for striker Rob Surtees and two assists for midfielder Lee Jones, was marred by the late sending off of captain Gwilym Davies who received a three-match ban and would prove a big miss to the team. With his impending ban Gwilym led the side out to a much-fancied Crickhowell side in what proved to be a thrilling 90minutes of eventful action. A commanding midfield performance from the captain was capped by a glorious thirty-yard strike for the second goal in a 3-1 victory. As fine a strike as this was, it was soon surpassed by the in-form Rob Surtees, who beat the keeper with a stunning 50yard strike from well inside his own half. Goal of the game and without doubt goal of the season, Surtee’s strike was a goal worthy of winning any match!
On a high from another victory and sitting pretty in second position in the league, Sebastopol played hosts to local rivals Lower New Inn. A comfortable 5-2 victory was ideal preparation for a colossal encounter with current league leaders and title favourites Tranch. Sitting top of the league and five points clear, Tranch would have been confident of continuing their good form, and after taking a 2-0 lead within the first twenty minutes of the game, Sebastopol looked dead and buried. The team and manager John Maddox had other ideas, and a spirited fightback began, with the whole team giving a level of performance that was to prove the benchmark for the remainder of the season. Sebast pulled the game back to 2-1 at half time, and produced a superb second half performance to Blitz the trance, winning the second half 3-0 and eventually the game 4-3. Strikers Rob Surtees and James Jackson were in particularly good form, as were the midfield who dominated the game in the second period.

When on such a high and during such a fantastic run of form, the last thing the club needed was a break of any kind. That was unfortunately the case, and a mixture of public holidays and bad weather meant there were to be no further fixtures for over a month. With each postponement came the realisation that these fixtures would have to be rescheduled for later in the season, ensuring a chaotic and challenging season climax. When the games finally returned Sebastopol welcomed Mardy to the Ruffets and immediately picked up where they left off, winning 6-3 in what was Captain Gwilym Davies’s final game of suspension. Although the ban was only three games, continued postponement meant he had in fact missed 8 weeks.

At this point in the season we were on an excellent run of form, winning eleven and drawing one of our last twelve matches. Just as the season began to gather some real momentum and the players were really hitting top form, the fixtures once again fell foul to the poor weather. This time there was a three week interruption due to heavy rainfall making many pitches in the league program unplayable.
When play finally resumed, the squad looked rusty to say the least. Missing a number of key players, including James Jackson and Ronnie Walker, meaning a number of players were playing out of position, the team lost for only the second time this season. A 3-1 defeat to Clydach, the same team who beat us on the second match of the season saw Sebast deservedly lose the game. This sparked something of a traumatic run of results. A combination of complacency, poor form and an ever-changing side saw the first team exit BOTH cup competitions in successive weeks, in what was to prove the toughest run of games throughout the whole season.

Ahead of the next game the squad was strengthened with two new additions. John Peploe and Erhen Cecen were promoted from the 2nd team to the 1st t team squad to bolster the attack and midfield positions respectively. A succession of excellent performances for the seconds saw them elevated to regular first team squad members.

The game a week later against Cwmffrwdoer proved to be a tough challenge for the lads, who showed great spirit and character to come away with a much needed win. The team found themselves a goal down at half time – a highly disputatious penalty was awarded when Lee Jones was adjudged to have handled in the box. Despite dominating extensive periods of the match and having almost all the play in the second half, Sebastopol were struggling to make their domination count, but a spectacular 30yrd volley from James Jackson with twenty minutes remaining on the clock and a fine strike by Rob Surtees only five minutes later turned the game on its head and the boys came away with a hard fought 2-1 win. This result proved another turning point in the season with just nine games to play.

Following the victory over Cwmffrwdoer, Sebastopol played hosts to local rivals Panteg. A match that will be memorable for a number of reasons, including a fine solo goal by Craig Williams who received the ball 70yrds from goal and beat 7 players to score the goal of the season. Lee Jones also scored a first-half hat-trick while playing at right full-back and was consequently substituted at half time, much to the amusement of those involved!
Two further victories immediately followed, a 3-1 victory over Pontypool Town with Lee Jones netting again, and a 3-2 win against a very stubborn and physical Gilwern team who would later go on to lift one of the cups. At this point, the good run of form had seen the firsts leap into top spot and extend their lead to five points.

Next up was Usk town. Sitting in second position and a pivotal game that many felt would decide the destination of the league title. The entire Sebastopol team raised their game to a season-high best and turned in undoubtedly the best performance of the season. A neat blend of pace, power and finesse saw an impressive Sebastopol team sweep aside Usk by three clear goals in a game that ended 5-2 and gave the team an eight point lead at the top of the league. From back to front, this was an impressive display by each and every player.

After such a high, Sebastopol were then required to visit bottom-placed Fairfield. A bitty and scrappy performance was settled by James Jackson, who netted twice in a 2-0 win. With other results also being favourable it meant we now needed just four points from the next four games to win a first league title since 1987/1988.

A week later and a visit to Goytre beckoned. Fielding a very strong team due to this being a midweek fixture, a close game ensued by Sebastopol came away with no points. A harsh penalty settling a very tight game that both sides could have won. Chances were few and far between, and a game that could easily have been won by Sebast was lost. The game was also marred by the injury to the influential Ronnie Walker, causing Sebastopol to play a portion of the game with only 10 men, and an injury that would see Ronnie miss the remainder of the season.
That coming Thursday saw the chance to wrap the league title up with a home tie against Llanarth. Despite dominating the entire game and being camped in the Llanarth half, Sebastopol could only muster a 1-0 half time lead. Having created no less than a dozen golden goalscoring opportunities, nerves were clearly a factor in our inability to kill the game. 10minutes into the second half and Llanarth equalised with their first strike on goal, and a shell-shocked Sebastopol upped the pace in reply. Craig Williams restored the lead with 25 minutes to go with a 25yrd strike, and Mike Gallivan bettered this, with a screaming 30yrd effort that settled the team and guaranteed victory. Sebast went on to record a 6-1 win and secure our first league title for 15 years!

With the league title sewn up, the remaining two games saw squad rotation and players rested. First up was a 2-2 draw with third placed Tranch. Half a dozen missing players, yet Sebastopol were unlucky not to take maximum points from the game. The week after saw a fine 7-0 home win against Lower New Inn – a night of celebration that saw the club presented with the league trophy by Mr. Ray Griffiths from the Gwent Football Association.
I would like to take this time to thank all my players and team members for a fantastic season and say a special thank you to all sponsors and club affiliates for the 2003/2004 season.

 

Yours Sincerely

J.L. Maddox
(1st Team Manager)

Season Stats

To see more statistics and information from the 2003/2004 season, follow this link