COLWYN BAY (Llanelian Road)

CYMRU PREMIER, COLWYN BAY 0-4 CAERNARFON TOWN, ATTENDANCE: 1,411

An historic occasion at Llanelian Road this Sunday evening as Colwyn Bay made their debut in the Cymru Premier, four years after opting to rejoin the Welsh league system. 

After a gap of 35 years, The Seagulls returned to Welsh football for season 2019/20 and were placed in tier 2, which was then the newly formed Cymru North. They were champions of the division in 2023/23, after an epic promotion battle with Holywell Town, losing only once during the season and going on an astonishing 25 game run of consecutive wins.

Ironically Colwyn Bay could have been founder members of the League of Wales (as the Cymru Premier was once known) in 1992 when they, along with other Welsh clubs in the English non-league system, were instructed to join the newly formed national league. They and other members of the 'Irate Eight' (Bangor City, Barry Town, Caernarfon Town, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, Newtown and Rhyl) as they were subsequently named, refused and for a period of time were banned from playing in Wales.

Colwyn Bay remained members of the Northern Premier League until March 2019 when the clubs and its fans made the historic decision to return to Wales.

Llanelian Road has been home to The Seagulls since it's inauguration in 1984. For sponsorship purposes it is currently known as the 4 Crosses Construction Arena. Today the brand new stand was open making the ground look absolutely fantastic. Definitely a welcome addition to the Welsh top flight.

The brand new 1,000 seat stand was open today.
A tremendous addition to the ground.

Today's game was an all ticket affair, on the advice of police and the FA Wales, and the bumper crowd of over 1,400 saw Caernarfon Town (who rejoined the Welsh system in 1995 after their initial refusal) run out 4-0 winners.

There was a fantastic atmosphere in the ground and it was an excellent game to watch. Darren Thomas (36) gave Caernarfon an interval lead before further goals from Adam Davies (62, 72) and Chester FC loanee Zack Clarke (67) sealed the win. 

The Seagulls had their chances but failed to take them and they were ultimately punished. Hopefully Colwyn Bay will recover from this early setback to compete at this level and there are better days ahead.

Click on the ticket stub to see match highlights