Congratulations to Greenfield – 2021-22 North East Wales League Premier Division champions
Six years ago Greenfield were crowned tier 4 Welsh Alliance League Division Two champions.
Now they have done it again, this time landing the fourth tier North East Wales Football League Premier Division title.
Because of ground criteria demoted from tier 3, where they competed in 2019-20 and finished a very respectable sixth in the former Welsh Alliance Division One, times have been tough for Greenfield, yet they have rebuilt and come back stronger than ever, with future development plans looking highly promising.
Becoming inaugural champions in the first season of a new Welsh pyramid is a great achievement for a team based near Holywell, who do not have the resources of other higher-ranked clubs in the area yet always compete to a good level and win their share of honours.
Grassroots North Wales spoke to managers Scott Beck and Paul Evans about this latest fine feat by the warriors of Greenfield FC.
Grassroots North Wales
This is the biggest prize Greenfield have won since being crowned Welsh Alliance Division Two champions in 2015/16 – how does winning the title this week compare to that achievement of six years ago?
Scott Beck
This feels like it means more. When we won the Welsh Alliance Division Two we felt we had the squad to win it that year and this season we were going into the unknown as we hadn’t previously played many clubs from North East Wales and especially when there are established clubs like Queen’s Park in the league.
When we got demoted from the Welsh Alliance due to ground criteria it was a huge kick in the teeth and we lost the majority of players . Only 7 players stayed so it was almost building a new squad from scratch. We recruited some good young players from academies who were only 16/17 at the time and these have developed over the last 18 months into very good players in what is their first season in men’s football.
Grassroots North Wales
Do you feel the late resignation of Chirk Town did a lot to help your chances of finishing top – or do you feel you were in control anyway and would have won the title regardless?
Scott Beck
I believe we would have won it anyway to be honest Dave, the game just before Christmas was key. If they would have beaten us I think they would have gone 7 points clear so after we won the game I felt that gave us huge momentum going into the start of the year and that proved right as we went unbeaten in the league in 2022.
Grassroots North Wales
Who have been your key players this season, or has it been an all-round team effort?
Scott Beck
It has been an all-round effort, I don’t like to single lads out for praise as everything we have done has been as a team. This shows in the league stats where we have the most goals, most clean sheets and least goals conceded. The help from assistant manager Paul Evans has been key though. We are good friends and work well together.
Grassroots North Wales
Which teams were your biggest threats over the season?
Scott Beck
Apart from the obvious like Halkyn & Flint Mountain and Queen’s Park our games against Cefn Mawr Rangers have been close and they are a team that play to their strengths.
Grassroots North Wales
Are you in a position now to accept promotion to Tier 3?
Scott Beck
We have a stand built already but are waiting for planning permission to erect it.
Grassroots North Wales
How has the community of Greenfield reacted to your success?
Scott Beck
The community has reacted well and we have received messages from many local people and the footy community in general.
Grassroots North Wales
What are your future hopes for the club?
Scott Beck
We need to make sure the tier 3 criteria is met and move on from there. The land the ground is on has recently been bought by a major local firm and they have given us a rolling 10 year lease on the pitch.
We haven’t had this before which has made accessing grants almost impossible but now this is in place it gives us a massive platform to start building for the future on and off the pitch.
There is a huge vibe at the club at the moment, we have a thriving youth system which the long-term goal is to provide a pathway to the first team. We have a reserve team in the pipeline for next season to provide youths with an opportunity for a first chance into senior football.
A CHAT WITH ASSISTANT-MANAGER PAUL EVANS
Paul ‘Sgog’ Evans is assistant manager at Greenfield.
He comes from a rich football background, with dad Robin Evans having been a founder of Glantraeth FC back in 1984.
Paul played for teams on Anglesey and now living in Greenfield his son, Ethan, and daughter Chelsea play for local sides.
Ethan has most recently been at Rhydymwyn, while Chelsea has represented Northop Hall for a good few years, winning the North Wales Women’s League with the team.
We asked Paul how the end of the 2021-22 season, which saw Premier Division title challengers Chirk Town resign and leave the field clear for Greenfield to go on to be crowned champions, affected his club.
“With the Chirk Town situation we had an inkling it (the resignation) was coming as they had struggled for a side over a few weeks after they were beaten by Queen’s Park at home.
“We knew it was ours to lose, all we had to do was concentrate on our own results.
“It’s been a fantastic effort by all the lads; we’ve got a great bunch of lads who are good friends on and off the pitch.
“The balance of the team is good as well with a mixture of young lads and experience and no doubt the majority of them should be playing up a level.
“Over the season Chirk Town were our main rivals along with Halkyn and Flint Mountain, but Queen’s Park have had a good finish to the season and I’ve got no doubt they will be a threat next season.
“On the promotion side of things we’ve had an issue with planning of the stand so it’s come too late for our domestic license, which is so frustrating for us as a club.
“Our aim now is to get everything in place for a big push next season and aim for tier 3. The future of the club looks great, the work going on in the background is fantastic.
“The structure of the club, the junior side of it, is going from strength to strength and next season we’re going to have a reserve side as well so the future of the club looks in good shape.”
HOW THE TITLE WAS WON
Greenfield went unbeaten away in the league all season, their only losses coming at home to Halkyn and Flint Mountain and Hawarden Rangers.
They were beaten at Chirk Town in August, but all results against the Taverners became void when they resigned.
After losing to Mountain in the second game of the season, Greenfield went on a 10-match winning run in the league, amassing 50 goals in the process.
Their second league loss against Hawarden in December was followed by an unbeaten streak of nine games in 2022, taking 23 points from a possible 27 to secure the league title.
Leading scorer in the league was Dean Hyland with 18 goals.
Greenfield played a number of cup ties this season too. If we get a chance, we’ll compile their season stats in all competitions.
Congratulations on a great campaign.
GREENFIELD FC – NORTH EAST WALES PREMIER DIVISION RESULTS 2021-22 (LEAGUE RESULTS ONLY)
July 3: Cefn Mawr Rangers (h) 2-1 (Connor Hughes, Jack Pennington)
July 6: Halkyn & Flint Mountain (h) 0-2
July 14: Hawarden Rangers (a) 5-0 (Lewis Williams 3, Jack Pennington, Danny Calvert)
July 24: Coedpoeth United (a) 4-3 (Sion McHugh, Connor Hughes, Dylan Roberts, Danny Calvert pen)
July 31: Llangollen Town (h) 2-1 (Aaron Boyle pen, Dean Hyland)
Aug 14: Chirk Town (a) 0-6 – RESULT VOID (Chirk Town resigned)
Aug 21: Mynydd Isa Spartans (a) 9-0 (Dean Hyland pen, Aaron Boyle 2, Jack Pennington, Connor Hughes 2, Lewis Williams, Jacob Jones, Ryan Jones)
Aug 28: Overton Recreational (a) 6-1 (Dean Hyland 3, Danny Calvert, Connor Hughes, Dylan Roberts)
Sep 11: Lex XI (a) 9-1 (Dean Hyland 4, Danny Calvert 3, Ryan Jones, Connor Hughes)
Sep 25: Castell Alun Colts (h) 4-1 (Dean Hyland 2, Lewis Williams, Wayne Edwards)
Oct 2: FC Queen’s Park (a) 4-3 (Lewis Williams 2, Dean Hyland, Darren Johns)
Oct 16: New Brighton Villa (h) 4-2 (Dylan Roberts, Dean Hyland pen, Ryan Jones 2)
Nov 20: Overton Recreational (h) 3-0 (Owen Davies, Dean Hyland, Ryan Jones)
Dec 4: Chirk Town (h) 4-2 (Dean Hyland, Ryan Jones, Danny Calvert, Connor Hughes) – RESULT VOID (Chirk Town resigned)
Dec 11: Hawarden Rangers (h) 1-2 (Lewis Williams)
Jan 15: Mynydd Isa Spartans (h) 3-0 (Ryan Jones, Liam Simon, Danny Calvert)
Jan 22: Lex XI (h) 4-0 (Ryan Jones 2, Ben Sim, Dylan Roberts)
Mar 26: FC Queen’s Park (h) 1-1 (Danny Calvert pen)
Apr 2: Castell Alun Colts (a) 6-0 (Ryan Jones 2, Lewis Williams 2, Liam Simon, Connor Hughes)
Apr 20: Halkyn & Flint Mountain (a) 3-1 (Lewis Williams, Connor Hughes, Danny Calvert pen)
Apr 23: Llangollen Town (a) 3-2 (Lewis Williams, Dean Hyland, Connor Hughes)
Apr 30: Cefn Mawr Rangers (a) 1-1 (Dean Hyland)
May 4: New Brighton Villa (a) 5-0 (Ryan Jones 3, Ben Sim, Connor Hughes)
May 7: Coedpoeth United (h) 2-2 (Dean Hyland 2)
LEAGUE RECORD: PLAYED 22 WON 17 DRAWN 3 LOST 2 GOALS FOR 81 GOALS AGAINST 24 POINTS 54
GOALSCORERS (LEAGUE GOALS ONLY)
18 – Dean Hyland
13 – Ryan Jones
12 – Lewis Williams
10 – Connor Hughes
9 – Danny Calvert
4 – Dylan Roberts
3 – Aaron Boyle
3 – Jack Pennington
2 – Liam Simon
2 – Ben Sim
1 – Wayne Edwards
1 – Sion McHugh
1 – Owen Davies
1 – Jacob Jones
1 – Darren Johns