Football

Great response to search for North Wales Women’s League information !

A classic Caernarfon Town ladies line-up of the 2009-11 era including a great photobomb from the one and only Keith Fearns

Yesterday we launched an appeal for more history on the North Wales Women’s Football League.

Already, we’ve had two great responses.

The first came from CPD Y Rhyl 1879 Women, the latest incarnation of Prestatyn Ladies, who were North Wales League champions in 2013-14.

These girls proved invincible as they went the entire campaign undefeated in the league, clinching the championship with a 4-2 win over Denbigh Town, winners of the Betty Pickering Cup.

An Alaw Davies-Smith wonder strike, a Jackie Weir goal and Zoe Stopford double guided Prestatyn to victory.

This Prestatyn squad contained some excellent players, including Rachael Nattrass, Laura Williams and Joy Jamieson, all of whom went on to shine in the Welsh Premier League.

At the end of this season Prestatyn were involved in a play-off to qualify for the Welsh Premier and emerged 10-0 winners over Aberystwyth University.

Prestatyn Ladies – 2013-14 champions

In 2014-15, the team joined the WPWL and became known as Rhyl and Prestatyn Ladies.

Later the Prestatyn was dropped from the title and the ladies, who played home matches at Belle Vue, lasted in the top flight for five seasons.

The second response to yesterday’s article came from one of North Wales’ finest all-time players, Cerys Gadd.

Cerys is now a key member of the ever-improving Amlwch Town squad, but towards the end of the first decade of the 2000’s and the turn of the 2010’s, she was one of the young stars in an excellent Caernarfon Town side.

Midfielder Cerys remembers winning titles with Caernarfon in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11.

The latter two successes were in the Northern Conference, the north half of the national Welsh Premier Women’s League.

Each season, north and south would play off to determine who were the overall Welsh champions.

This may have been the 2008-09 Caernarfon Town title-winning side?

Caernarfon took on Swansea City in the national finals of 2010 and 2011, but unfortunately lost both matches.

In 2012-13, the league became fully national, and for the first ever this season, contains no North Wales teams.

It appears that the 2008-09 season Cerys recalls saw Caernarfon win the North Wales League title, thus qualifying for the Northern Conference the following campaign? (confirmation needed).

However, Cerys is also sure the Northern Conference and North Wales League ran alongside each other….so that would make the above paragraph incorrect (we keep trying).

The pictures Cerys has provided include some fantastic players past and present – Jordanne Greenough, Katie Bowe, Elena Julio, Lexi Crawley (then Musgrave) and Cerys herself.

A huge thanks to Cerys and CPD Y Rhyl 1879 for their help in filling some gaps