Newport's dreadlock hero Cameron Antwi has told how his mother's devotion steered him clear of South London's meanest and darkest alleyways writes Anthony Rees.
Ghanaian dynamo Antwi's career is un upward motion. The all-action 24-year-old star has now clocked up around 60 pro matches and is a solid bet to move up the Football League ladder.
Merton-raised Antwi, who steps out against National Conference Boreham Wood in Hertfordshire next Sunday - a televised FA Cup Cup Second Round tie - once wore the colours of Blackpool and Cardiff City - both clubs with rich memories in football's oldest competition.
Blackpool shaded neighbours Bolton 4-3 in the "Matthews Final" of 1953 and Cardiff are the only club to take the FA Cup out of England after spiking Arsenal 1-0 in 1927.
Both League One clubs allowed Antwi, who scored a goal and a twice-taken spot-kick against Gillingham in County's thrilling FA Cup First Round penalty shoot-out victory at Rodney Parade last month, to squirm through their nets. Yet, the Londoner's solid family values maintained his grounded life path.
But for the unbridled love of his mum, Antwi could have been yet another tragic faceless entity in the same tough Capital suburb that mobster brothers Eddie and Charlie Richardson once ruled five decades ago - their gang, bitter enemies of legendary Ronnie and Reggie Kray, who controlled London's East End with barbed fists.
It was H, fiercely private Antwi is not prepared to name his mother, who laid down the law to he him focussed on a ten-year soccer apprenticeship down by the Thames with Fulham.
He reflected, "Yes, mum made me fully aware of the dark side of London, I knew about the menace that lurked in the streets and the alleyways. My mother made sure the bright lights and easy pay-days were never a temptation or an option to my brother Brandon or me. I am so proud of him, he is in engineer and a good person.
"She kept down four jobs at one time to prop up Brandon and me. Both of us have a huge debt to her. She has been living a good life back in Ghana for the last few years, and she thoroughly deserves that !"
The positive traits forged deep inside Antwi, gives him an inner glow and outer ambience. Put simply, he is one of the most driven, but nicest guys, in an often brutal world of professional football.
The midfield power-house has so many friends inside and outside the game.
He reflects, "My boys back in south London have got on with their lives - one is a dentist, another is a lawyer. It pleases me greatly to see them getting on."
At Fulham between the age of eight and 18, Antwi shared those personal teenage challenges with the likes of £27.5m Brentford star Fabio Carvalho, Hull defender Cody Drameh, Sylvester Jasper, now in the Serbian Super League outfit Zeleznicar Pancevo and Lincoln City keeper George Wickens.
"We all speak almost daily, we've stayed in touch on our respective journeys," said Antwi, continuing, "if there is a problem, it is shared. It is a great thing to know you have a band of brothers who have your back."
Antwi has had challenges, of course. Three years in the north-west with Blackpool did not blossom, and his short stint at Cardiff - before Newport came calling 18 months ago - promised, but fizzled out.
He smiled, "I've learnt things everywhere I have been. I loved the bracing winds off the Irish Sea at Blackpool, but was not so keen on the Pleasure Beach, Golden Mile and those lights because I am essentially an inside person.
"I did enjoy the club digs in a local hotel and how all the lads stuck together. Many are still friends to this day.
"I'll be grateful to Cardiff because without them I might not have had the chance to now be establishing myself at Newport."
County are currently in the midst of a grim battle for League Two survival. Manager David Hughes departed recently - former Austrian international skipper and Leicester City Premiership and FA Cup winner Christian Fuchs the Welshman's replacement.
An emotional Antwi is hell-bent on dragging his club to safety, booming, "I want to give Newport everything because of the platform they gave me to finally develop, other clubs didn't do that.
"It's personal with me and I want to assure all our supporters, as a squad we really care. We take it home with ourselves and we are going to remedy any problems we have by giving maximum every day."
