Today he turns 30 and already has more than 500 career goals to his name – take a bow Asa Thomas
It’s a very special day today for a very special footballer.
Asa Thomas, the Holyhead man who has netted more than 500 senior career goals, celebrates his 30th birthday.
Born on April 11, 1991, Asa is probably best known for the 112 goals he amassed in the 2010-11 season for quadruple-winning Trearddur Bay United.
This season he signed for Trearddur Bay Bulls of the tier 4 North Wales Coast West Premier Division, but the entire campaign for clubs below Tier 1 ended up cancelled due to coronavirus, denying Asa the chance to increase his massive goals tally.
Asa began 2019-20 with Holyhead Town, but once their first team pulled out of the former Welsh Alliance League he moved across to Cymru North club Holyhead Hotspur.
He scored 19 times for Town before they resigned, meaning all their records in Division Two – including Asa’s goals – were expunged.
However, he did add another two for Holyhead Town Reserves (who then became the first team in the Anglesey League).
Thomas then returned to Holyhead Hotspur in December and added 10 more goals for the club, four for the firsts and six for the reserves, bringing his current career total at the end of the 2019-20 season to 524.
The goal machine first appeared at Holyhead Gwelfor Athletic as a 16-year-old in 2007-08. He spent two seasons with Gwelfor, piling up 69 goals, before moving on to Holyhead Town in 2009-10.
Then in 2010/11, he rattled up 112 goals from just 47 appearances for Trearddur Bay United.
He registered 25 hat-tricks in an amazing season for the club, who won the Anglesey League, Dargie Cup, Megan Cup and Thomas and Williams Cup quadruple, as well as reaching the second round proper of the Welsh Cup.
Since that campaign, Asa has topped 40 goals in a season five times and proven he can score at higher levels by finding the net regularly in the Gwynedd League, Welsh Alliance and, briefly, the Cymru Alliance with Holyhead Hotspur.
He has also been a lethal marksman with Morawelon – 100 goals over two seasons – and Gaerwen.
Asa has won a host of honours in the game and represented Wales through the North Wales Coast FA squad at the 2012/13 UEFA Regions Cup in Macedonia.
He revealed recently he has made many lifestyle improvements in recent months which should stand him in great stead for seasons to come.
With 524 goals on his record, Asa’s next target is to pass the 631 scored by the late, great Tommy Welsh, the legendary striker from Holyhead via Belfast, whose main club throughout his career was Holyhead Town.
Asa’s dad Jimmy Thomas himself holds legendary status in Holyhead football circles as a prolific goal-getter. mainly in the 1980’s and 90’s.
FIVE MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS FROM ASA’S CAREER
1 – Trearddur Bay United 3 Mold Alexandra 0 (Welsh Cup qualifying round two – August 28, 2010)
One of the biggest shocks in Welsh Cup history saw Bay from the tier six Anglesey League whip Mold from the third level Welsh National League Premier Division thanks to a stunning hat-trick from goal machine Asa Thomas, who netted more than 100 times that season.
2 – Representing Wales in UEFA Regions Cup
In 2012-13 Asa earned a place in the North Wales Coast squad which represented Wales in the UEFA Regions Cup in Macedonia.
Under coach Chris Morrell, the Coast earned Wales’ first-ever point in the competition, narrowly losing their other two matches.
3 – 112 goals
Asa was only aged 19/20 when he set a modern day North Wales senior football record by scoring 112 goals in 2010-11.
His achievement was part of a quadruple for Trearddur Bay United and earned him deserved TV coverage.
4 – 2015-16 Welsh Alliance title with Trearddur Bay
Asa was top scorer with 34 league goals as Trearddur were crowned Welsh Alliance Division One champions at the very first attempt in 2015-16.
He scored 48 goals in all competitions for the club that season – including six hat-tricks against Pwllheli, Llandyrnog United, Llanfairpwll and Llanberis (league) as well as Glan Conwy and Waterloo Rovers (Welsh Cup).
5 – 2017-18 Gwynedd League title at first attempt
Asa proved a magical signing for the Harbourmen as he bagged 28 league goals and 45 in all competitions as Holyhead landed a Gwynedd League title and Gwynedd Cup double in 2017-18.
ASA THOMAS – SENIOR CAREER GOAL SCORING RECORD
2019-20 (19 goals expunged due to Holyhead Town’s resignation from the Welsh Alliance)
12 – Holyhead Town/Holyhead Hotspur
2018/19
20 – Holyhead Town
2017/18
45 – Holyhead Town
2016/17
26 – Trearddur Bay United/Holyhead Hotspur
2015/16
48 – Trearddur Bay United
2014/15
22 – Gaerwen
2013/14
52 – Morawelon
2012/13
48 – Morawelon
2011/12
41 – Trearddur Bay United (including 19 for Holyhead Hotspur)
2010/11
112 – Trearddur Bay United
2009/10
29 – Holyhead Town
2008/09
37 – Holyhead Gwelfor Athletic
2007-08
32 – Holyhead Gwelfor Athletic