New venture but familiar faces for North Wales ace Laura Pennington

North Wales footballer Laura Pennington has been part of a Shropshire soccer summer shake-up.

The former TNS Ladies team have parted company with the Oswestry-based club and affiliated to Wem Town for the 2020-21 campaign.

Laura, 25, has spent the last two seasons with TNS, having left Northop Hall at the end of 2017-18.

She has enjoyed considerable success with Saints, winning the team’s Most Assists (12) award in 2018-19 and scoring regularly for the FA Women’s National League Division One Midlands outfit.

Laura is one of many players from the former TNS who will now play under the Wem Town Ladies banner.

The team will remain in its current division under the managership of Lawrence Wilson.

Exercise physiologist Laura emerged through the North Wales Girls League system before going on to feature in the Northop Hall team which competed as Flintshire’s sole representative when the Welsh Premier Women’s League first went fully national in 2012-13.

And she made a perfect start, the then 17-year-old hitting a hat-trick in Hall’s opening day 5-0 triumph at Caerphilly Castle, Alex Pugh and Natalie Bennett the other scorers.

Unfortunately, despite surviving in the league that first season, Hall withdrew in the 2013-14 winter break because of a lack of players.

With Laura a key figure, the Flintshire side were a big hit on their return to the North Wales Women’s League, winning the title in 2015-16 and 2017-18.

In the latter season, the player known popularly as “Penno” netted 48 goals – 33 league and 15 in cups. She struck eight in one Welsh Cup tie against Amlwch Town and bagged eight hat-tricks over the campaign.

Her speed, ball skills and finishing ability made her the league’s standout player that season.

She has gone on to make her mark in the English pyramid and will aim to shine for Wem Town this term.