PURE SWANSEA: ‘We won’t get many more nights like Saturday’: Midwinter’s warning before Afan Lido

Pure Swansea were two up at half-time against Caerphilly Athletic on Saturday, and three up soon after the restart.

Then the standards dropped and Caerphilly pulled one back. Manager Jack Midwinter wants the full 90 minutes at Afan Lido on Friday night.

The 3-1 win kept the leaders top and unbeaten, but it did not sit right with the Pure boss.

“It was a good result and positive outcome from Saturday,” he said. “It probably wasn’t our cleanest performance, and something that we need to work on this week is just maintaining standards and making sure we do what’s got us into this good run in the first place and not take things for granted.”

Midwinter felt his side had got away without doing the things they do best. “I think on Saturday it felt a little bit like we didn’t have to do things that we were good at, which didn’t really sit well at full time, that we didn’t show the best of ourselves,” he said.

“To still come away with three points and not be at our best is obviously a positive, but going into Friday we know that we have to be at it from the beginning, because we won’t get many more nights like Saturday where we’re not at it and we still come away with a result.”

Afan Lido ‘never going to be a team that you just roll over’

Afan Lido have had a mixed start. They sit ninth in the Novira Cymru South, nine points behind Pure, and Midwinter admits that has surprised him.

Lee Surman is in charge at the Port Talbot club, with former Goytre United and Llanelli boss Lee John as his assistant. Midwinter knows the camp well.

“I know Lee Surman there quite well and we know their staff relatively well,” he said. “It’s a surprise to me to see how they started. I think they will come good. I think they’ve got a good experienced Cymru South squad there, so I think it’s only a matter of time before they pick up a few results.”

He expects a physical night. “It’s going to be a tough and physical game. A Lee John and Lee Surman side is never going to be a team that you just roll over, so we’ve got to expect a battle on Friday night,” he said.

“It’s another one of those pitches where, when you come up to this league, you look forward to playing against these teams, so we look forward to what’s coming ahead on Friday and hopefully again come away with a positive result.”

Back in winning habits after a cup ‘hiccup’

Saturday’s win followed a short dip. Pure were knocked out of the Welsh Cup by Trethomas Bluebirds. They were then held to a goalless draw at Aberystwyth Town.

“We want to keep momentum and build on things. We had a hiccup in the Welsh Cup and the draw against Aberystwyth, so the win gets us back in those positive habits of picking up good results,” Midwinter said. “It’s something we need to build on Friday night and we’re looking forward to it.”

Experienced Johnston a big asset for a young Pure squad

Tom Johnston, back at the club after rejoining from Ammanford Town, opened the scoring on his first start after a long injury lay-off.

The 27-year-old made 78 appearances in his first spell, when the club played as Swansea University. He was part of the side that won the Cymru South title in 2019-20, and the long-serving players know him well.

“He’s a great boy and came for us from Ammanford with a slight niggle and just hasn’t really been able to get going,” Midwinter said. “He’s been working hard off the pitch and he’s not had a minute for us, so it was a little bit of a risk to chuck him in there, but that paid off rather quickly when he scored the first goal and got an hour in the legs.”

The manager sees that experience as a big plus for a young side. “TJ’s a very good player at this level, so he’ll only be more of an asset to us when he’s fit and fully firing,” he said.

Squad getting stronger for the winter

Johnston and Danny Williams, who scored Pure’s third on Saturday, are both back from injury. Midwinter expects more players to return on Friday.

“That’s a positive from the summer, where we did recruit well and added lots of depth,” he said. “The unfortunate thing is we didn’t expect to pick up as many injuries as we had from those first couple of games. Friday is the opportunity to bring back more of the lads who’ve been unavailable and more of the lads who are now ready to return to play.”

He said depth will matter as the season turns. “The squad’s going to get stronger, which I think is important, because this time of year is going to be challenging with the change of the pitches and change of weather.”

Pure travel to Afan Lido at Princess Margaret Way on Friday night (7.30pm kick-off).