It has been a great season for Holywell Town Football Club as the club has had one of its most successful season’s for a number of years.  Under the guidance of Mike Thomas and Keith Davies, the first team won the FAW Trophy, Barritt Cup Semi Finalists and also finished third in the Welsh Alliance League, and both Mike and Keith won a Manager of the Month award each too.  Not to be outdone, Holywell Town Reserves, managed by Martyn Evans, finished champions of the Clwyd League Reserve Division, and reached the semi finals of the Clwyd League Presidents Cup and the NWCFA Junior Cup.

The season started back in August under the new management regime of Mike and Keith, and the team took their time to get into their stride in the league winning one and drawing one league game in the first month, picking up 4 points out of a possible 12 points and going into September, the team found themselves near the foot of the table.  The Team were also dumped out of the Welsh Cup with a heavy defeat at Caernarfon Town, but we did beat Welsh National Favourites Chirk AAA’s in the FAW Trophy by 2 goals to 1.

Only 3 matches took place in September, the club drawing away from home at Nefyn in the league,  made the long trip to Aberaeron in the FAW Trophy and were 2-0 winners but lost to local rivals Denbigh Town in the Cookson Cup.  Results picked up in October, beating Barmouth & Dyffryn (3-0), Llanrwst United (4-0) and Caernarfon Town (3-1), with our only defeat coming at Holyhead Hotspur as they scored the winning goal with barely a minute left.  In the FAW Trophy, Town had their highest victory of the season when we thrashed Llangollen Town 11-1.

November saw two league matches, a defeat at Pwllheli and a 4-2 victory at Halkyn Road against Llanrug United.  Also during the month, we beat Gresford Athletic 3-1 in the FAW Trophy to set up a quarter final tie against South Walian outfit Carnetown FC.

December and January was a wipeout as the weather affected football in North Wales with very few games going ahead.  The club played one game during these months and we suffered our worse defeat of the season losing 6-1 at eventual League Champions Conwy United in early December.

February saw us go undefeated, with League victories over Llanfair PG (4-1) and Barmouth & Dyffryn (4-1), whilst we beat Bethesda Atheltic 7-5 after extra time in the Barritt Cup, and victory over Carnetown of South Wales (3-2) saw the club reach the Semi Final of the FAW Trophy and a tie against another South Walian team Ton & Gelli.

March was another great month for the Wellmen, other than defeat to Denbigh Town by 2-1, Town defeated Caernarfon Town (3-1), Llandudno Junction (4-0), Nefyn United (4-1) and Bethesda Athletic (4-0) in the League which saw the Club now occupying a position in the top 5 in the League Table.  We also beat Ton & Gelli by 3 goals to 1 at Llanidloes to book our place in the final of the competition against Conwy United.  We also progressed in the Barritt Cup, beating Denbigh Town 4-3 despite being behind by three goals going into the last 15 minutes of the game.

Due to the matches called off during December and January, and with our progression in the FAW Trophy and Barritt Cup, April was a busy month with the team scheduled to play 11 games during the month.  League victories over Llanberis (5-1), Glan Conwy (3-0), Llanfair PG (2-1) and Holyhead Hotspur (1-0) and drawing 3-3 at Denbigh Town guaranteed that we will finish third in the league at the end of the season.  11 games in a short space of time took its toll on the players as we suffered defeats at the hands of Llanrwst United, Bethesda Atheltic and Llanrug United.  April also saw us knocked in the Semi Final stage of the Barritt Cup, losing to Nefyn United. 

Also, April saw the club in the FAW Trophy final against Conwy United which was played at Rhyl FC’s ground.  Cheered on by over 300 supporters, Town beat Conwy United by 3 goals to 2 in what must be one of the club’s greatest achievements ever.  Losing 2-0 with 83 minutes on the clock, Town pulled off one of the greatest ever comebacks with a brace of penalty kicks by Steve Thomas on 89 and 91 minutes, before Tony Hogan brought the house down with a dramatic last gasp winner to send the Holywell supporters wild with delight.  There was no way back for Conwy who saw victory snatched away from them right at the end.  Scenes of jubilation followed as Town were presented with the cup and the celebrations went on until the early hours in what must be one of the clubs finest hours of all time.

May saw the end of the league campaign with victory over Pwllheli (4-0) and Gwlachmai (1-0) and saw the club finish in 3^rd place in the League Table which is an excellent achievement, given the fact that Holyhead Hotspur, Llanfair PG, Bethesda Atheltic and Caernarfon Town were relegated last season from the Cymru Alliance due to the shake-up in Welsh football. This made the league more competitive this season and to put it into perspective, only Holyhead Hotspur finished above us from those who were relegated.

As previously mentioned, the Reserve Team have also had a remarkable season winning the inaugural Clwyd League Reserve Division Championship, finishing 3 points ahead of their nearest rivals Shotton Steel Reserves, with Flint Town United in 3^rd place.  Martyn Evans has built a great squad and is proud of his players in what they have achieved this season.  The reserves have also helped out the first team this season and both teams work well with each other with members of the Reserve Team taking their chances well when called upon by the first team after impressing playing for the Reserves.  A special mention must also go to Kallum Pierce, who finished the league’s top scorer with 23 league and cup goals in his first full season in senior football. 

The club have taken great strides both on and off the field as we aim to achieve Cymru Alliance football hopefully over the next couple of seasons.  We have built a squad of local lads who all want to play for their hometown club and want to see the club succeed and get back to where a club the size of Holywell Town should be.  Off the field, we have a new committee in place and we have worked hard at Halkyn Road over the past few months and have passed the ground criteria to move up to the Cymru Alliance if we are in a position to do so at the end of next season.  We have landscaped the area on the far side opposite the stand and behind the far goal, and have laid a concrete path behind the far goal to make it more supporter friendly for those coming to watch the matches.  More sponsors are supporting the club this season than ever before and the club are really grateful to the companies and individuals who are supporting the club in whatever way or form.

I am really proud of the club’s achievements over the past season and I am already looking forward to next season.  We have played some excellent football along the way as the results show, and the way we won the FAW Trophy shows the excellent spirit we have amongst the squad. 

Steve Roberts, Secretary