Jamie McDaid is a Cofi celebrity with a definite eye for goal !
Jamie McDaid was always destined to play at a high level in Welsh football.
Back in 2006/07, as a 12-year-old, he made huge waves when scoring 93 goals for a Bethel Under-13 side crowned Gwyrfai League and Cup double winners.
That set the trend for a tremendous youth career which saw him sign for Crewe, represent the Wales U18 Semi Professional side in Ireland in 2012 and score a hat-trick for Wales Colleges against England.
Jamie also won the Welsh Colleges Cup with Coleg Menai, netting a goal in the final which saw the North Wales side recover from two-down to defeat Gower Colleges 3-2 (Craig Whelan and John Littlemore also on target).
He represented Welsh Colleges three seasons in a row, winning three caps, and played for Wales Schools alongside players a year above, earning two caps.
Not surprising, therefore, that Jamie has gone on to be a top class talent in senior football, where he has played in both the Cymru Alliance and Welsh Premier.
Today sees this super-fit Caernarfon lad celebrate his 27th birthday.
Born on March 29, 1994, Jamie began his senior path at Porthmadog in 2010-11.
He featured in 50 matches for the Cymru Alliance club, scoring 10 goals.
Steve Smith then signed him for hometown club Caernarfon during 2011-12, the young striker finding the net three times in 11 appearances. He also won the NWCFA Youth Cup with the Canaries that campaign.
Stays at Holyhead Hotspur and Bangor City followed.
He was Bangor City Reserves’ top scorer in the season he made his first team debut for the Citizens in a NWCFA Challenge Cup tie at home to Meliden on March 26, 2013, grabbing a goal in a 3-0 victory.
On March 30, 2013, the day after his 19th birthday, he featured for the first time in the Welsh Premier for Bangor, coming on as a sub in a 3-3 draw with Port Talbot at Nantporth.
Jamie would also replace Les Davies in the latter stages of a 4-1 home loss to The New Saints on April 27, 2013.
He then took the field in place of Dave Morley midway through the second half when City lost 4-2 at home to Bala in the Europa League play-off semi-final in May.
The opening day of the 2013-14 campaign saw Jamie make his first WPL start for Bangor in a 1-0 victory at Newtown. He was also in the starting line-up for Bangor’s next game – a 3-2 home defeat to Rhyl.
McDaid’s first Welsh Premier goal for the Citizens came in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Carmarthen Town on October 12, 2013.
Jamie scored again in a 2-1 home reverse at the hands of The New Saints on January 4, 2014, and during that season featured in 28 first-team games, appearing as a sub on 23 occasions.
Another memorable episode in Jamie’s time at City came in summer 2014 when he featured in both legs of a Europa League tie against Stjarnan of Iceland.
He was a substitute in the away leg – a 4-0 defeat – and started the second match at Nantporth, which also finished 4-0 to the Úrvalsdeild outfit.
Jamie soon moved on from Nantporth, rejoining Caernarfon Town under Lee Dixon and finishing top scorer for the Cymru Alliance runners-up in 2014-15 with 23 goals in 22 outings. His haul included five in a 10-0 blitzing of Rhydymwyn.
He was named Cymru Alliance Player of the Month for October and November 2014 and chosen for the league’s Team of the Season.
The following season Jamie was in the Caernarfon side crowned Cymru Alliance champions under Iwan Williams. He made 21 (2) appearances and netted four times.
Jamie continued to impress in the 2016-17 season, starting at Porthmadog, where he bagged eight goals in 11 starts before switching to Holywell Town, finding the net eight times in 13 games.
He shone again for the Wellmen in 2017-18, scoring eight times in 13 matches prior to signing for Holyhead Hotspur.
Jamie remained at Hotspur at the start of 2018-19, but tried his luck in the Welsh Premier with Aberystwyth Town from the turn of 2019.
In June 2019, Llandudno became Jamie’s seventh senior club, before he landed back at Porthmadog for a third time.
Over the past couple of seasons injuries and illness have hampered Jamie’s progress, but his recent keep-fit feats for charity prove he is currently in fine fettle.
He also appeared in the S4C endurance programme Am Dro last year. A Cofi celebrity if ever there was one!
Penblwydd hapus Jamie
JAMIE McDAID – SENIOR FOOTBALL CAREER STATS (not all available – some subject to confirmation)
2010-11 Porthmadog: starts 17 (sub 12) goals 3
2011-12 Porthmadog: starts 16 (sub 5) goals 7
2011-12 Caernarfon Town: starts 11 goals 3
2012-13 Bangor City 0 (2) 0
2012-13 Holyhead Hotspur
2013-14 Bangor City: starts 5 (sub 23) goals 2
2014-15 Bangor City 0 (1) 0
2014-15 Caernarfon Town: starts 14 goals 11
2015-16 Caernarfon Town: starts 21 (sub 2) goals 4
2016-17 Porthmadog: starts 11 (sub 9) goals 8
2017 Holywell Town: starts 13 goals 8
2017-18 Holywell Town: starts 17 goals 8
2017-18 Holyhead Hotspur
2018-19 Holyhead Hotspur
2019 Aberystwyth Town
2019-20 Llandudno
2019-20 Porthmadog: starts 2 (sub 1) goals 0