THERE was great sadness around the footballing fraternity of Pembrokeshire on Sunday when it was learned that Clarbeston Road AFC had lost Phil Harries, one of the best-known club linesmen in the county and someone who had served the club so well as a founder member, former player, administrator and current club president, writes Bill Carne.

Phil was a no-nonsense player and flag man, who gave what he saw, and was never the club’s 12th player, as some linesmen try to be for their own team – and some of the comments flooding in on social media to voice regret at his passing away show how much his work on the touchline was appreciated.

Such were his endeavours on behalf of the club when he was chairman at the time of the splendid development of pitches and changing rooms that they form a lasting tribute to his total involvement at Clarbie Road, along with his wife June, the long-serving secretary and another tremendous asset to the club.

His work was finally recognised the previous Friday when sons Stephen and Adrian, attended on his behalf a glittering dinner at the Cardiff City Stadium, prior to the Wales v Andorra match, to receive his ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award at the Football Association of Wales Community Awards Dinner, from Craig Bellamy

At half time on the pitch they were presented with a framed Welsh football shirt with ‘Phil Harries’ printed on the front, and after a video showing Phil and other club stalwarts Huw Bevan and Steve Brown, Gareth Bale congratulated Phil on his efforts.

As Huw Bevan told us,

“Phil summed up all that was best at Clarbeston Road AFC and he will be missed so badly by us all because he was held in the highest regard, from the kids in our junior section, through the ‘Warriors’ disability team, to the players from past eras to those playing now.”

On a personal note, I always found Phil to be great company when we chatted prior to matches and his depth of knowledge, and love of football, especially at Clarbie Road was immense – and my thoughts go out to June and the rest of the Harries family, at this very sad time.