The Oak FC will made a fantastic gesture today, when they presented the Vets team with his memorial pennant at kickoff at the Woodland Field.
An amazing show of respect and kindness from everyone at the club, which is reciprocated with appreciation tenfold by ourselves. Thank you to all at The Oak FC for helping immortalise Barney for us all.
We would like to formally announce that Matthew Thomas has accepted the role of Club Secretary going forward, following the sudden passing of longtime Excelsiors stalwart and Secretary, Keith Williams in September.
In recent weeks, Matthew has offered of his time and skills to aid the club during an especially turbulent time and last night agreed to take on the mantle held by Keith for the longest time.
His first foray into this new experience for him was the creation of the club programme for the home game against Pill AFC, using the preferred format of his irreplaceable predecessor and adding his own new features to it, something that Keith himself planned to do prior to his passing.
We appreciate the commitment and willing that Matty has made, with us looking forward to him continuing Keith’s indelible legacy and forging his own over the course of future seasons.
The funeral of Keith Williams will be held on Friday, October 27th.
The service is going to be 2PM at Blaenau Gwent Baptist Church on Victoria Street, Abertillery. This will then be followed by the cremation at Cwmbran crematorium at 4PM.
The family would then like to invite you all back to the New Bridgend Inn for refreshments and to help celebrate Keith’s life.
As a club, we would once again like to extend our most sincere condolences to Keith’s family and friends, as well as thanking everyone who has offered their heartfelt messages of sympathy and support at this sad time.
This past weekend, at 4PM, a host of friends and football colleagues raised a glass in memory of our friend.
They say lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice but it is with heavy hearts that we can now announce the sudden passing of our beloved Club Secretary, Keith Williams yesterday morning, just days after his good friend and fellow club legend, Chris Barnett.
Keith was a loyal servant to the club, whose hard work and dedication to Abertillery Excelsiors was only surpassed by his lust for life and laughs. His body of work across many levels of Welsh football is a testament to his love of the game and his award-winning programmes were the stuff of legend. Always there with a wicked sense of humour, quick-witted quip and playful banter, to say he will be sorely missed is the understatement of an increasingly heartbreaking season.
He leaves behind not only his wife Jackie and sons Scott and Brett, but also an entire footballing community who again must now rally together once more to remember one of the very best to grace our special club.
We know there’ll be a whiskey waiting on the bar for him.
RIP Keith
We’d like to extend our heartfelt and sincere thank you to every single person who came to the New Bridgend Inn this past Saturday, September 16th to celebrate the life of Christopher Barnett.
The decision was made in the immediate aftermath of our tragic loss to postpone both training and games for one week, something that was supported wholeheartedly by all involved. Throughout the past week we’ve continued to garner the unprecedented support of players, clubs and community members through messages of love and support, one minute silences at games and on Saturday, Barney took over Twitter as countless Tweeters changed their profile photo to the local legend in a show of respect.
It was also announced that on September 28th, there’ll be a special Evening With Razor Ruddock, the former Liverpool FC and Welsh warrior, at the Llanhilleth Institute to raise even more money for Barney’s fund, which on the GoFundMe page alone, now sits staggeringly at over £7,000.
It was an emotional rollercoaster of a day but one where we were surrounded by love and support, as we have done every moment of the last week. It means so much to us as a club and even more as a wider community.
To see Abertillery Excelsiors and Bluebirds side by side, irrelevant of badge, bravado or historic battles truly was a special moment that will forever be etched into the sporting soul of this wonderful town.
Barney would be impressed, in awe and elated beyond words that his legacy will always be one of friendliness, sharing in a common passion and a community that some towns and can only dream of having.
Seeing representatives of other clubs, close friends reunited and families all come together for a common cause is what it was all about. There may never be another day like it – but we’ll have always had this day.
Thank you.
It is with overwhelming sadness that we announce the passing of Christopher Barnett this morning.
Barney was a true club legend and character for so many of us and we were better for having him in our lives. It is a tragic void we will never be able to fill.
We’d like to extend our heartfelt condolences to Lesley and Aaron, his family and friends at this time, whilst also thanking the countless football clubs and individuals who sent messages of love, strength and support over the past 48 hours. It has been nothing short of inspiring and incredible.
Football is much more than results and rivalries. Barney would be proud.
The Vets are shown proudly wearing their brand new strip courtesy of Macron: Ebbw Vale and sponsored by Trade Centre Wales. They’re as valued as our 1st Team in our eyes: one team, one club! And they’ve still got what it takes to put on a great show on the pitch…check them out when you can!
Indeed, those fabled stories of sunny days and BBQ weather in August must be just that: stories. Unfortunately, rainfall has claimed it’s first victim on the game calendar with the cancellation of our final pre-season fixture against Merthyr team Quar Park Rangers coming as a result of too much surface water deeming the pitch unplayable.
To say we’re gutted is an understatement. We were very much looking forward to hosting the lads for some midweek fun after the original fixture date was amended and this really has spoilt our evening. Apologies to both the QPR lads (on behalf of the weather and the fact due to time constraints we can’t re-arrange before the start of our respective seasons) and to those fans who were planning on attending the game, rain or shine! We’ll see you very soon at the start of the season.
This past Saturday, visitors Rogerstone claimed a big scalp with a 1-3 victory over the lads at the Jim Owen pitch. Read more about it here.
We’d like to extend our best birthday wishes to a true Excelsior and life-time member of the football club, as Bill Edwards turns 60 years old!
To honour this landmark occasion, Bill was presented with a framed Abertillery Excelsiors strip, signed by our Under 14s. It’s a lovely gesture and mark of respect from the youngsters that Bill coaches and as he tries to help shape the future of the club and players of tomorrow, we’d like to echo the sentiments and thank him for his continued support throughout the years.
From the players, coaches, committee and everyone else associated with the club: happy birthday Bill!
