The Radnor Robins had momentum going into the season after just one defeat in their MMP Central Wales League (South) title-winning campaign, coupled with some quality summer signings by manager Harry Stokes, who brought in Shane Sutton, Will Evans and Kieran Dovey.

Knighton began the campaign with a 2-2 draw at local rivals Radnor Valley and will be disappointed not to have won after leading through Callum Stead and Luke Boundford. A solitary Kieran Dovey strike earned them a first league win when they beat Dolgellau 1-0, and Knighton followed that up with a 3-1 victory at Builth Wells. Second-half penalties from Taylor Wozencraft and Dovey then earned them a 3-3 draw at home to Penycae.

Luke Boundford netted a hat-trick in a 4-2 verdict at Llandrindod Wells, and the prolific Boundford went one better in Knighton’s next game, scoring four in a 5-1 win against struggling Lex. The Robins then played out a goalless draw at Corwen and beat Kerry 3-1 before suffering their first defeat of the term, beaten 6-0 at Llanuwchllyn.

But Knighton responded well with convincing wins against Llangollen Town and Cefn Albion before a 2-2 draw at home with Rhos Aelwyd. Five straight wins against Llanfair United, Dolgellau, Bow Street, Llandrindod Wells and Lex followed before a 1-1 draw against Corwen last time out, leaving the Radnorshire side ten points behind leaders Llanuwchllyn but with two games in hand – a position Harry Stokes would undoubtedly have settled for before the season kicked off.

Radnor Valley lie fifth in the league table following a superb five-match unbeaten run. The Goats at times struggled for numbers last season, but manager Adam Jones was proactive in the summer, signing Isaac Price and Cian Bufton from Penybont, plus Alfie Hardwick and Dan Fenwick-Lofts, who have all been integrated into the squad.

Radnor began their campaign with draws against Llandrindod Wells and Knighton Town before winning 3-2 at Llanrhaeadr, where Henry Shipley netted twice. They then won only two of their next twelve, beating Llangollen Town at home and Builth Wells away. Radnor were becoming the league’s draw specialists, sharing the points seven times in their opening fifteen league games.

The return of Joey Price guaranteed goals and Radnor’s talisman has scored eleven in ten league starts after missing the first eight games of the term. A 3-2 verdict at Llangollen sparked a real revival as the Goats also saw off Llanrhaeadr, Cefn Albion and Kerry before drawing at Lex in their last league encounter.

Builth Wells have really embraced life in the Ardal League, finishing mid-table in their debut season and then fourth in 2023-24. The Bulls were among the leading pack for much of last term, but the loss of Tommy Rowlands and Lyndon Jones to Caersws twelve months ago was a huge blow and they ended up in fifth spot. Several other players departed in the summer and it promised to be a difficult season for manager Jason Samuel, who brought in talented youngsters Harry Edwards and Will Evans.

Builth’s opening game this time resulted in a narrow 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Kerry, but they followed that with back-to-back wins against Llandrindod Wells and Llangollen Town. However, that proved a false dawn, and draws against Cefn Albion and Radnor Valley and a win against Lex were all they had to show from their next eleven outings.

Builth signed Andrei Mihalcae and Ionel Lazak from the now-defunct Hereford side Ro Stars to add numbers to the squad, while Keegan McGing returned following a spell with Rhayader Town and has impressed in midfield.

A number of defeats were by the odd goal and Samuel kept the faith. The Bulls were solid at the back, with goalkeeper Kham Steventon and central defenders Ryan Powell and Lee James as good as anything in the league, although he admitted his team were short of goals. Jamie Evans addressed that problem with a hat-trick in a stunning 5-1 victory at Llandrindod on Boxing Day, which Builth have followed up with consecutive draws against Penycae and Corwen.

Only two teams are to be relegated this time and Builth are currently six points above the relegation places and know there is still work to do, but their recent three-match unbeaten run will have boosted confidence.

A run of just one win from twelve starts means Llandrindod Wells are now just a point ahead of Builth and also looking over their shoulder. The Spa Men reeled off three straight wins in August against Lex, Llanfair United and Bow Street and looked capable of challenging the top teams, but the loss of top scorer Liam Hall to injury has impacted their goal return.

Llandrindod did sign highly rated teenager Arwyn Walby from Westfields, but their squad has been depleted with Gavin Rowlands switching to Bow Street while Kejan Foryszewski and Fin Francis are away travelling.

Performances have been good, but apart from a draw at leaders Llanuwchllyn, results have not, with Llandrindod not having the rub of the green. Their last two games were 1-0 defeats against Knighton Town and Bow Street, two of the top three, and in both cases they were possibly the better side.

Manager Gareth Jones knows his side will have to dig deep to move away from the bottom, but they should have enough quality to maintain their Tier Three status, although, like Builth, scoring goals has been a problem. Llandrindod are our longest-standing Ardal League team, having spent two seasons in the Ardal South East League, while this will be their third in the North East division. They are through to the Central Wales Cup semi-finals, where they face Caersws at Rhayader next month, with Ashley Jones set to line up against his former club for the first time.