Where are they now?

Tal is still going strong in Maesteg

Talfryn Harries was well known in Pembrokeshire Football as a very good goalkeeper with Haverfordwest and Fishguard Sports and those who can remember him bravely throwing himself at the feet of onrushing forwards will be delighted to hear that he is still going strong.
Popularly known as Tal, he now lives in the village of Llangynwyd, just two miles from Maesteg, where he runs a post office with wife Daphne, and is still involved in sport as he plays golf once a week at the Pencoed Agricultural College course. He also attends the gymnasium in Maesteg four times a week where he goes through a full programme of activities in his fitness regime that has been a great help since he had two hip replacements.
When he occasionally returns to Pembrokeshire he still likes to attend matches at the Bridge Meadow Stadium where he sometimes bumps into old playing colleagues from Haverfordwest County like Winston Griffiths but on Saturdays at home it is rugby that takes his attention since he follows Maesteg in the National League Division One.
Tal readily admits, however, that on Saturdays at about 5pm the first result that he looks for is how the Bluebirds have got on in the Welsh Premier League!

Always a goalkeeper

He was born in Tonypandy, in the Rhondda Valley but moved to the
Wolfscastle/Letterston area as a child and was always a goalkeeper in the playground (he was in the same class as stalwart administrator Eddie Oliver) or when the local kids had a kick around. He started out in formal games with Goodwick United juniors and can recall playing a Wiltshire Cup match against a very strong Haverfordwest side which included the likes of Wally Watson and Dekker Thomas. Tal must have impressed, however, because he was asked to join the County set-up and Roy Kent used to drive out to Wolfscastle to pick him up and drop him off again afterwards
At 17 he played in his first Senior Cup Final for the Bluebirds, coincidentally against Fishguard Sports, and heard that Alun Davies had told his colleagues to play on Tal’s inexperience. Alun got it right, too, as Tal made a mistake which allowed Norman Bevan to make the final score 2-1 in Fishguard’s favour – and Norman still reminds Tal of the fact when they meet!
Then it was on into the County’s Welsh League team and also included were local players like Winston Griffiths, Don Evans and a young Paul Phillips alongside the likes of Ivor Allchurch, Mike Johnston and Mel Charles.

A most memorable match

One of his most memorable games, ironically, came in a 6-0 defeat by a very strong Stourbridge team because after the match a policemen who had watched from behind the goal came up to him and said it was the best keeping display he had seen for a long time because without Tal the scoreline would at least have been doubled. Playing for the opposition that day was Chick Bates, who went on to manage Shrewsbury, and had never missed a penalty in his life – until he came up against Tal that is!
During his time Tal played a number of times for Pembrokeshire and was proud to do so but admits that he was disappointed by the fact that he never received his county tie, despite playing the requisite number of times – so perhaps now is the time to remind football officials in the county that they still owe Tal a tie!

Smashed knee – and a spell with the Sports!

Tal left Haverfordwest County after the 1978/9 campaign and played in Brecon for a short while until a smashed knee left him thinking his playing days were over. He returned to Pembrokeshire, met Daphne and John Luke persuaded him to turn out for Fishguard Sports 2nd XI – and it wasn’t long before he was a regular in the first team as his knee held up well enough for him to enjoy being involved again.
He played for the Sports until he was 40, winning plenty of silverware that included the Senior Cup that season as they beat Narberth, who had a young Huw Davies in goal, by the only goal of the match It had been 23 years since his previous appearance in the final and as he took his boots off Tal decided that it was as good a time as any to hang them up for good.

Tal still comes back

And now he’s settled in Llangynwyd with a host of footballing memories as he enjoys life with Daphne. He watched the Bluebirds play a friendly against Cardiff City and was full of praise for the Bridge Meadow pitch. He will return whenever he’s in Pembrokeshire to cheer his old club on – and is guaranteed a very warm welcome from former players and supporters who remember Tall Harries’s terrific bravery and goalkeeping skills.