Women’s football previews: Good battles on the cards this Sunday
North Wales Women’s Football League previews – Sunday, September 29, kick-offs 1 pm
Division One
Bethel v Airbus
After opening the season with a 5-2 victory in the NEWFA Cup, Bethel will be looking to get their league campaign off to a winning start on Sunday.
Last season’s joint Division One champions recently boosted their squad by signing Angharad Evans and Shannon Jade Jones from Bethesda Athletic, who recently resigned from the league but will continue operating in the new North Wales Recreational.
Airbus will be without top-scorer Becky Lees plus midfielder and captain Abby Williams, so it looks set to be a tough afternoon for the Wingmakers.
Corwen v Llanfair United
Just a second game of the season so far for Corwen – and it’s against last season’s joint champions Llanfair.
Alaw Davies-Smith’s side lost their opener 2-1 to Denbigh Town, but put in a very encouraging display, so will be aiming to build on that.
Llanfair have won away to Wrexham and Denbigh so far, 12-1 and 3-1 respectively, so already are promising to be the same major force they were in 2018-19.
Denbigh Town v Northop Hall
Good battle in the making at Myddleton College as a Denbigh side with a win and a draw on their record so far meet a Northop Hall outfit which drew their only match to date at Airbus.
Rhyl v Wrexham
These two shared some great battles in Division Two last season, so now it’s time to meet again in Division One.
Although their opening day victory over Bethesda Athletic was declared void after Pesda pulled out of the league, Rhyl followed up with a great win at Airbus and look to have what it takes to enjoy a really good season in Division One.
Wrexham suffered a heavy opening day loss to Llanfair, so will be seeking some improvement on that.
Division Two
Caernarfon Town v Penrhyn Bay
Penrhyn Bay have started the season off very promisingly, performing really well in defeats to strong sides Pwllheli and Bethel.
Ian Morgan’s side hope to build on this by picking up their first win at a young Caernarfon Town, who have lost both their matches so far, 5-3 to Llanberis and 7-1 against NFA.
Connah’s Quay Nomads v NFA
Several ex-Rhyl players will feature for both sides in this attractive-looking encounter.
This will be a first home game for Nomads, who have won their first two 12-0 and 6-2 on away grounds and already look like figuring among the title challengers.
NFA lost emphatically in their first match versus a very strong Amlwch Town, but bounced back with a 7-1 whipping of Caernarfon. Andy Lloyd and Rebekah Hansen’s team were also impressive in a 5-2 NEWFA Cup loss to Bethel last weekend.
Mountain Rangers v Llanberis
Smashing local derby on the cards here as newcomers Llanberis visit a Rangers side only in their second season.
Rangers won their first game against new side Holywell 14-1, Katie Bowe scoring seven – while the Darans have beaten Caernarfon 5-3 and lost 6-2 to Connah’s Quay.
Players on both sides will be familiar with each other and it could end up a brilliant contest.
Great news for Rangers is defender Heledd Evans is due to return from injury.
Pwllheli v Holywell
This season will be very much a development process for Holywell.
Defeats will occur, but more important at this stage is level of performance and getting used to one another as a team. It was great to see the Wellwomen get their first-ever goal against Mountain Rangers recently.
Pwllheli are experienced and capable of doing well in this division. They have beaten Penrhyn Bay 3-2 – coming back from two-down – and lost 8-3 to Amlwch Town so far.