Inter-Island Games match-winner McGinness joins Porthmadog

The man who clinched gold for Ynys Môn this weekend has joined Porthmadog for the 2019-20 season.

Mel McGinness, scorer of Anglesey’s winner in Friday’s 2-1 victory over Guernsey in the final of the Inter Island-Games, has left Holyhead Hotspur and signed for Championship North outfit Port.

The 29-year-old was named Huws Gray Alliance Player of the Season for 2018-19 despite his club Hotspur getting relegated.

Now the former Bangor City man returns to tier-two level to play his football, joining fellow former Hotspurites and Ynys Môn gold medal heroes Paul Pritchard and John Littlemore.

Port manager Sion Eifion said: “We’re all delighted that Mel has decided to join us for the coming season.

“He joins us after a fantastic week at the Island Games which will no doubt give him great confidence going into the new season. He’s a proven goalscorer at this level who is a nightmare for any defender.

“I’m sure he’ll grow to be a favourite with the Port faithful.”

McGinness is a Holyhead lad who signed for Bangor City as a 16 year-old in September 2006.

He was involved in the FAW Victory Shield Under-15 squad in 2004/05 representing Ynys Môn and played in the unbeatable Holyhead Under-17 team of 2005/06.

McGinness made his Bangor debut as a substitute in a 2-2 Welsh Premier League draw at Carmarthen Town on August 22. 2006. A first start followed in a Loosemores League Cup visit to Caernarfon Town a month later.

Mel represented Welsh Colleges in 2006/07 and was later named in Bangor’s UEFA Cup squad.

However, first-team opportunities were limited at Farrar Road, and following a spell at Llangefni Town in 2008/09, the striker returned home to Hotspur and was an outstanding success at the New Stadium.

The 2011/12 season proved a highpoint as he scored 50 goals to be crowned winner of the first Bob Brodie Trophy, while Hotspur themselves landed the Welsh Alliance title, Cookson Cup and Barritt Cup treble.

Mel had been a regular marksman ever since for Holyhead in the Huws Gray Alliance, apart from when he had a spell at Welsh Alliance Division Two Gaerwen in 2015/16.

A very dangerous attacking player who gives a team options in midfield or up front, McGinness is renowned for his great touch, never giving up and ability to make life a nightmare for any defender.

In 2016/17, he wrote himself another page in Hotspur folklore when banging in a hat-trick as the club rounded off a great season in style by winning the Welsh Alliance Reserves Division Lock Stock Fireworks Challenge Cup.

At the 2019 Huws Gray Ynys Môn Inter-Island Games, McGinness notched three goals in the tournament, including the 84th minute decider at Hotspur’s New Stadium to seal the gold medal.