Thursdays put on brave face (From Free Press Series)

Thursdays put on brave face

Abergavenny Thursdays 1 Newport County 10

THERE have been so many false dawns at the Pen-y-Pound Stadium over the last decade that most Thursdays fans just shrug their shoulders when a new committee jumps into the hot seat promising the return of the good old days at the once great club.

At last though - in the form of the Thursdays Trust - the club finally has a committee that just might be able to turn a dying dream into reality.

For those longing for some prove turn the clock back to last Thursday night when the mighty Newport County donned their jerseys for the biggest fixture at Pen-y-Pound in over a decade.

The chances of Thursdays securing a pre-season fixture like that just a season earlier would have been bleak at best, but with a business-focused committee now steering the club forward the impossible is becoming thinkable.

OK so Thursdays got walloped in the end by a cricket score, but what the score line doesn't tell you is that at half time Newport's far fitter semi-professional players led by just the one unanswered goal after a fiercely competitive first half.

Just under 350 fans packed the ground - the biggest crowd in recent memory - and all were impressed in the professional manor the club is now being run.

The once dilapidated changing rooms have been improved, while the club itself has a major sponsor - building firm A.A. Davies. The pitch is looking in good condition and the number of people getting involved at the club gets bigger by the week.

"We've certainly turned a corner," said committee member and second team manager Brian Jones.

"This is a marathon, not a sprint. We are committed for the long haul and are determined to turn this club around."

Paul Bailey, one of the main figureheads behind the Thursdays Trust - the support-based business consortium that now runs the club - added: "We have raised some good money for the Trust, which is vital because we are going to invest a lot of money on the stadium over the next few years. A lot of interest has also been rekindled in the town."

Thursdays' pre-season build-up continues next Tuesday with a home game against Llanhilleth, kick off 6.30pm, before the side faces Fairfield United on Saturday - again at home - at 3pm. Training kicks off at the ground every Tuesday night at 6.30pm.

The club's seconds crushed Pontypool Town 12-1 on Saturday. Mark Heffernan has been confirmed as the team's captain.