Great to see Lex XI getting back to their old selves – and there is a very familiar name leading their revival

One of the most pleasing sights in North East Wales football this season has been the much improved fortunes of Lex XI.

Last term the Lawmen finished a modest eighth in the North East Wales Premier but right now they are top of that division under the managership of Ricky Evans and Matt Oddie.

In their most recent game, the Stansty Park outfit hammered Johnstown 18-1 in the Mike Beech Memorial Trophy with 44-year-old striker Alan Huxley netting 10 goals!

However, it is in the league where Lex have been most eye-catching, presently sitting in first place above strong sides like New Brighton Villa, Connah’s Quay Town, reigning champions Greenfield and Queen’s Park.

It is still early days and only four points separate Lex at the peak and the Park in fifth, but it has been an encouraging start for Ricky’s raiders.

Assistant-manager Matt Oddie said: “Ricky has turned us around from being second bottom to top of the league this season in 12 months.

“Ricky has a chequered history of ups and downs but is doing well at the moment bringing on a number of young players at Lex. His son Kai Evans has signed a pro contract with Wrexham.

“Ricky’s brother is Steve Evans, who is doing very well at Colwyn Bay too. They lead the Cymru North and look a good bet for promotion to the Cymru Premier, where Steve of course has so much experience.

“Ricky wants to get Lex back to Tier 2 in the following three seasons. We have just signed Ethan Simpson from Wrexham academy and Jack Brindley from Penycae who was at Flint Town last season – both young lads who are excellent players.

“We don’t pay players and still charge subs each week to help us get through as we don’t have any major sponsors.”

Ricky, 46, played for no less than 11 different clubs in the top flight Welsh Premier League and made in excess of 400 appearances in total, netting 76 goals.

He spent three years at Oldham Athletic before embarking on a long journey along the WPL road.

His most settled period was with Total Network Solutions between 1997-98 and 2001-02.

In the WPL, he represented: Welshpool Town, Total Network Solutions, Flint Town United, Bangor City, Aberystwyth Town, Caersws, Rhyl, Cefn Druids, Bala Town, GAP Connah’s Quay and Airbus UK Broughton.

Later career clubs have included Conwy Borough, Brymbo and now Lex XI.

ABOUT LEX XI

Formed in the mid-1960’s by a group of solicitors, Lex XI first appeared in the Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Premier Division in 1966-67, finishing bottom of Division Three.

They won promotion in 1973-74 and were crowned Division Two champions at the first attempt in 1974-75.

The 1980’s were a golden period for the club as they lifted the WNL Premier Division title three times in 1984-85, 1987-88, 1988-89, won the NEWFA Challenge Cup in 1988-89 and reached three other finals, and landed the WNL Division One Cup in 1989.

In 1990-91, Lex became founder members of the Cymru Alliance League, where they spent 20 seasons, finishing a highest position of fourth. They only eventually lost tier 2 status at the end of 2009-10 because of a Welsh football restructure.

Lex also scooped the NEWFA Challenge Cup in 1990-91 and made it to another three finals of that competition in the 1990’s. In 1993 they won the Premier Division Cup.

On returning to the Welsh National League in 2010-11, Lex were relegated from the Premier Division.

They changed their name to Lex Glyndwr in 2014 and won the WNL Division One championship in 2016/17.

A return to the Premier did not go well and before the 2018-19 season ended, they resigned from the league due to lack of resources.

The Lawmen rejoined the WNL in 2019-20, finishing third-from-bottom in Division One.

Lex XI became part of the new North East Wales Football League in 2021-22 and ended up eighth of 12 in the tier 4 Premier Division.

And so to the present day, where things look much brighter for the Wrexham side after a few years of gloom.

Lex XI would welcome offers of sponsorship. Contact the club via social media on @LexFootballClub or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008333891536