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

FLINT TOWN UNITED (Cae-y-Castell)

CYMRU PREMIER, FLINT TOWN UNITED 4-1 HAVERFORDWEST COUNTY, ATTENDANCE: 223

With the stormy weather battering the country this weekend I opted to stay local with another visit to Cae-y-Castell, the home of Flint Town United.

Flint returned to the top tier of Welsh football for season 2020/21, after an absence of 22 years but, due to coronavirus restrictions, this season is the first chance for supporters to cheer on The Silkmen. The crowds have reflected this and a recent game against rivals Connah's Quay attracted a 1k plus attendance.

So far, expectations have been well and truly exceeded with Flint spending the majority of season hot on the heels of runaway leaders The New Saints.

Flint were founder members of the League of Wales in 1992 and had six seasons in the top flight before relegation to the Cymru Alliance in 1998.

Flint actually finished distant runners up to Prestatyn Town in the Cymru North in 2020 but were promoted after Prestatyn's Bastian Road failed ground grading criteria.

Cae-y-Castell, or Castle Field in English, has been home to Flint since 1993 when they left their previous home, Holywell Road (which is now buried under a retail park).

The ground is just a short walk along the coastal path from the 700 year old Flint Castle, famous as the location of a fateful meeting in 1399 between Richard II and his rival to the crown Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV), an event immortalised in Shakespeare’s Richard II.

This afternoon was a reasonably comfortable win for Flint.

With the strong wind blowing from one end of the pitch to the other, the game hinged on who could take advantage with the wind at their backs. It was the homesters as they went in 3-0 up at the break and it should have been more. Kai Edwards (16) Michael Wilde (41) and Jack Kenny (44) scored the goals.

Haverfordwest, who had former Welsh international Jazz Richards in their starting XI, weren't without their chances and they actually missed the first big chance of the match and had a couple of opportunities to make things interesting after substitute Williams (58) had got one back. However Flint made certain of the points when Kenny (80) scored his second of the match.

Just for further information if you do visit Cae-y-Castell this season then make sure you try the locally produced pies on sale here, they are absolutely superb!