PURE SWANSEA: ‘There’ll be a bit of banter’ — Ingram on facing his new Wales team-mates

Dan Ingram will spend Friday night trying to stop players he will be sharing a dressing room with a week later.

The Pure Swansea full-back is one of three players from the club named in the Tîm Rhanbarthol Cymru squad for the UEFA Regions’ Cup intermediate round in Bosnia and Herzegovina next month, and Pontypridd United, who visit Swansea Bay Sports Park on Friday, have players in it too.

“I’m sure, depending on the result on Friday, there’ll be a bit of banter after the game,” Ingram told Swansea Bay News.

“But I think it’s a separate ordeal with the Wales thing in comparison to club. We’re both going to do what we can to win on Friday and then do the same out in Bosnia.”

The call-up itself came out of nowhere.

“It was a bit of a surprise, to be fair, but we got told that the manager Gruff was in the stands for one of our games, so lately he thought I’d performed well enough,” he said.

“A few of the boys are in there as well, so it’ll be a good experience.

“A few of the boys I’ve played with from previous clubs will be there, like Jack Turner and Clayton Farrah, so I know some of them quite well. Having some of the boys I’m playing with at the moment is even better, it just adds to it.”

Those two are Casey Coughlin and Mason Kelly, the club’s top scorer and its most-used creator.

‘I get a bit more freedom’

Ingram has been among the standouts of Pure’s perfect start, with assists in three of the four games, including both of the first two goals in the 5-1 win at Caerau Ely.

He puts the attacking numbers down to the man in front of him and to 18 months of familiarity.

“With the likes of Brad Gibbings coming in, who likes to play inside the full-back, I get a bit more freedom to go forwards,” he said.

“Over the course of the year and a half I’ve had more trust towards the rest of the back line and the players I’m playing with.

“You get used to their game, you get used to how they play, and now I have the freedom to go forward and try and express myself a bit more.”

Friday, he suspects, may ask more of the other side of his game.

“The first thought as a full-back is to defend. So if I do my job there, I’ll push myself forward,” Ingram said.

“But the main objective is to stop their wingers, stop their players from scoring.”

Bragging rights at Caerau

Last Friday took him back to Cwrt yr Ala Road and the club he left 18 months ago.

“It was, to be fair. Their pitch has completely changed from when I played there. But a few familiar faces, a few laughs and jokes before the game. Got the better of them and a good win,” he said.

Pure were a goal down at the break before scoring five after it.

“As a team, we all run hard. We run for each other, and we know that we are capable of scoring,” Ingram said.

“As the game got on, when Jordan Hughes scored the first goal, it was a big relief and a big push on. We knew that after that we could set the standard up and keep running, keep scoring.

“We all work for each other and when we get into those situations, you back each other to make something happen.

“It comes down to a lot of relationships altogether. We all have trust in each other.”

Four wins from four has Pure top of the Novira Cymru South, but the 20-year-old is not getting ahead of himself.

“It’s only four games in, so it’s very early to tell. But we can’t help but be confident for the season and just keep taking the games one step at a time,” he said.

Kick-off against Pontypridd United is at 7.45pm on Friday.