The minus 10 struggle? What an earth could this post be about I hear you ask? (Que repetition of question.) Well this post is all about a South Wales semi-professional side, their home has also been the home of Romans, Messerschmidt and even Sky Sports camera's but this season there has been a struggle to secure football at Penydarren Park for the 2010/11 season. If you haven't guessed by now, this post is about Merthyr Tydfil Football Club.
The CF48 located club have hosted FA CUP 1st Round matches, Cup winners Cup matches but next season on show at Penydarren Park will be 21 Western League matches. But for many this is seen as a relief as at least there will be football in the town of Merthyr.
The reason behind the post title is that the Martyrs started the season with minus 10 points for entering administration but 0 points was achieved much to relief of the town after an agonising 10 games. Merthyrs first positive point on the table came thanks to a 1-1 draw at Hednesford Town in early October. The Martyrs goal coming from a player who will go on to score much more important goals, his name is Kris Leek. Kris on loan from Newport notched up a total of 7 goals this term made himself a hero no doubt.
As the season went on Merthyr were picking up points here and there but never really hit form. There were some blinding victories such as the 5-1 win at Chippenham Town in September and the 4-1 win at Rugby Town. But on the other side of the coin were the many 3-1 defeats such as the ones to Truro City, Hemel Hempstead Town, Nuneaton Town and Banbury United. Another factor that was costing Merthyr a lot of points was the inability to hold on to leads. Merthyr threw away half of their final ten games which would have certainly guaranteed survival in the league. They made things hard for themselves as the season drew to a close.
With the league season coming to an end Merthyr found themselves in a sticky situation. Some believed relegation was inevitable. But true to their nickname, "The Martyrs" would never say never, and with just two games to go, the martyrs needed other results to go their way. Their future was in the hands of other teams losing. Luckily enough those results Merthyr needed to go their way did in the week after a much needed 2-1 win over Brackley Town at home. Scoring the winning goal in front of 200 strong Merthyr Tydfil crowd was none other than Kris Leek. He would again become a hero on the final day of the season at Swindon Supermarine.
The sun was shinning on a beautiful late April afternoon. There was a carnival atmosphere to mark the last game of Merthyr Tydfil FC as we know it. Merthyr were just 4 minutes away from getting relegated but then once again, up steps Kris Leek. The ball was bouncing in and around the Swindon penalty box and then it fell perfectly for the Merthyr midfielder who struck the ball and it flew into the net to send the 150+ travelling fans home delighted. The Martyrs were staying up!
Whats in store next for the fans and players of Merthyr Tydfil Football Club no one knows. A new league, name of the club and perhaps new couple of players? All we know for certain is that on the 24Th of April 2010, the Tydfil stayed up.
