The 1996 reunion took place over the weekend of April 20/21 with most people staying at the Cambrian Hotel. We had a meal on the Saturday at the Cambrian with an after meal buffet at the Marine on the Sunday. This year we had two new additions to the reunion - Barry Mapp and Tony McGuinness.
The match was played on the Sunday morning against a team of locals organised by Dai Witney and the following report of the games appeared in the Cambrian News on May 3rd 1996 :-
"On Sunday April 21 a 1-1 draw was keenly contested between opponents who originally played against each other 30 years ago and who were once again trying to re-live the past and find some remnants of their old skills.
An ex-Aber students team, made up from the players who used to play for Arabs, Astra, Plyn and Whales, played a match at the college fields, Blaendolau, against a team of local footballers who had last been their opponents in the late 1960s, when they played for a variety of the teams in the Aberystwyth and District league.
This was the third reunion match in four years and was keenly contested with a lot of skill shown by both teams. In the first half the local footballers dominated the midfield with Jenkins, Dai Whitney and Ken Williams much in evidence. It was against the run of play and from one of only a few scoring chances that the students scored through Elwyn Williams. A long range shot which dipped over Tony Brauer in goal gave the ex-students a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Both teams were fortunate to have a number of substitutes and the students manager, Jerry Evans, was able to ensure that manyof the team had a much needed rest by ringing the changes at regular intervals.
In the second half the students started to make a few more chances but, despite a lot of good runs by the joint attacking force of Spike Jones and Dick German, the final shots did not find the target. The local footballers also attacked more frequently and it was from a pass by Alun Evans that 'Nipper' Sutton scored the equalizer with a hard shot from 10 yards, deflected past the goalkeeper by Jim Kettle.
The students' guest goalkeeper, Huw Bates, was able to deal comfortably with a few more efforts on goal but, in general, the two defences dominated their opposing forwards. This was evidenced by the fact that the best player from each team was a central defender - D. Cornall for the locals and Mike Newman for the students. The referee, John Ansell, also an ex-student, finally blew the whistle at the end of an enjoyable game, with a respectable draw providing the right result to both teams.
Teams :-
Local Footballers - T.Brauer, P.Antoniazzi, D.Comall, D.Sutton, K.Williams, D.Kinninmonth, G. Jenkins, D. Whitney, B.Jones, G.Morgan, AEvans, D.Bazzone
Ex-students - H.Bates, M.Purslove, H.Phillips, D.Spragg, M.Newman, J.Kettle, I.Hicks, K.Passmore, E.Williams, B.Mapp, R.German, M.Jones, T.McGuinness, J.Evans. "