Treowen Stars F.C. are a Welsh football club from the village of Treowen near Newbridge, Caerphilly. The club plays in the Ardal Leagues South East, the third tier of the Welsh football pyramid.

Treowen Stars AFC
Full nameTreowen Stars Football Club
Nickname(s)The Stars
Founded1926
GroundBush Park, The Uplands, Treowen, NP11 4RX
Capacity450
ChairmanGary Evans
CoachDean Randall
LeagueArdal SE League
2022–23Ardal SE League, 6th of 16

Treowen Stars were formed in 1926 in the village of Treowen, near Newbridge, and played most of their early football in the Abertillery & District and West Monmouthshire Leagues.

It was in the early 70’s under the chairmanship of Archie Davies that Treowen by now in the Monmouthshire Senior League planted the seeds of success. In 1973, new changing rooms were erected just below the field, at Bush Park, largely paid for with proceeds of a very successful Tote, run by the Committee at the time. It wasn’t until 1984 that the club was given licence to sell alcohol on the premises. It didn’t take long though to reconstruct the inside of the building, since a very strong social element had been very instrumental in keeping the club going financially.

In 1980 the Gwent County League had been formed from a merger of the Monmouthshire Senior League and the Gwent Premier League. In 1985-86, Treowen Stars won promotion from Division 3 of the Gwent County League and started the climb up the ladder. In 1990-91, Treowen gained promotion from Division 2 and a year later clinched the Division 1 title at the first attempt. This was at the time of the introduction of the Pyramid system and Treowen were offered a place in the Welsh League. Within weeks the required ground improvements were completed and Treowen entered the Welsh League.

In 1992-93, the clubs first season in the Welsh League, the Stars won Division 3 by March, winning 21 and drawing 4 of the 26 league games. The following year Treowen won promotion again, this time finishing runners-up, losing out on goal difference to Taffs Well. In the same season, 1993-94 they also finished runners-up in the Welsh League Cup losing to Barry Town at Coychurch Road, Bridgend.

The next four seasons from 1994 to 1998 would see Treowen Stars become an established top six Welsh League Division 1 side, finishing in 6th, 5th, 4th & 4th positions respectively. The club also won the Welsh League Cup in 1998, 4-3 after extra time against BP Llandarcy once again in Bridgend. While between 1997 and 2003 the club would reach the last 32 of the Welsh Cup on 4 occasions. However, the club also suffered relegation consecutively in 2000-01 and 2001-02.

Three seasons of top 10 finishes followed in Division 3 before Treowen Stars were relegated from the Welsh League at the end of 2005-06 to the Gwent County, losing out by just a point to Cwmbran Celtic and Llantwit Fardre. However, the club bounced back in 2009-10 winning Gwent County Division 1 with a return to the Welsh League Division 3 the reward.

This is where the club remained until the pyramid restructuring in 2019-20, saw Treowen Stars compete in the final season of Welsh League Division 2, where they finished in 13th place on the points per game average due to the pandemic.

The club now have an active junior section with teams from Under 8’s to youth level, both boys and girls and are currently fundraising to improve facilities at Bush Park, one of the most characteristic grounds in Wales with 54 steps up to the pitch. They now take their place in Ardal Southern League, South East Division having gained Tier 3 criteria for 2021-22 under manager Dean Randall.

Honours edit

  • Gwent County 1st Division Champions: 2009–10
  • League Cup Winners 1997–98[1]
  • Promoted from Welsh League 2nd Division – Runners Up 1992–93[1]
  • Welsh League 3rd Division Champions 1992–93[1]
  • First division Champions 1991–92[1]
  • Promotion from Division 2 1990–91[1]
  • Promoted from the 3rd Division of the now Gwent County League 1986[1]

Players edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   WAL Cael Jones
FOR   WAL Chris Hartland
CM   WAL Ross Jolliffe
DEF   WAL Tommy James
LW   WAL Morgan Evans
DF   WAL Aaron Thomas
DF   WAL Paul Cunningham
DF   WAL Peter Thomas
MF   WAL Christian Davies
MF   WAL Josh Waters
DEF   WAL Evan Jenkins
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   WAL Elliot Williams
MF   WAL Lewis Coote
DEF   WAL Craig Mcdonnall
FOR   WAL Matthew Hughes
MF   WAL Scott Jones
FW   WAL Gary Evans
DEF   WAL Brooklyn Frayne
MID   WAL Shane Brewer
  
  

Youth Teams edit

Treowen Stars have a number of Mini, Junior and Youth Teams that develop players for the first team. Players can start young, as early as under 7's and progress to the under 16's. Mini and Junior teams at Treowen play in the Islwyn Youth League.[2]

Season 22/23 saw both the U12s and U14s win their respective leagues without dropping a point.

Treowen Youth currently operates an U18s and U19s team.

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f Treowen Stars AFC Brief History & Current Squad "Welsh League Website" Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Under 16's Tables". 5 October 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2019.

External links edit

51°40′9.4″N 3°9′1.2″W / 51.669278°N 3.150333°W / 51.669278; -3.150333