It’s taken me a week to get around to writing this blog, that’s not an indication that I’ve been at all busy, however I have fallen foul of some bad luck over the last week. Normally I write these blogs on the Tuesday after the game, as it gives me time to reflect on the football and to think of things to write about. Unfortunately, on Tuesday, last week, I was struck down with “Man Flu” and spent the majority of Tuesday and Wednesday barely resembling a human. I felt better on Thursday, however my home internet packed in decided to stop working and by the time I was back online on Friday I didn’t feel like writing. Hence why I’m writing this a week late.
I started the Salford blog by talking about how I seemed to be doing more groundhopping recently, and this was to be the second weekend, and the third game, in a row that felt like a proper groundhopping trip. The idea for this trip had been suggested by my friend Andy, as we hadn’t seen each other in over a year. Andy is a former work-colleague, and even though he’s a Wrexham fan and I’m a Shrewsbury Town fan we somehow overcame all the odds and became friends. Unfortunately, I’m terrible at keeping in contact with my friends, and family, and it does tend to mean that I don’t see certain people for long periods of time, although it is always good when I do see them!
When Andy had suggested meeting up, I immediately began searching for fixtures in the North Wales area, whilst North Wales is a great place for non-league football it is also horrendous for any form of public transport. Andy, if you haven’t guessed, lives in Wrexham and seeing as how he doesn’t drive, it was only fair to make the trip as easy as possible for him. This fixture immediately stood out to me, as I’ve tried to go to Halkyn Road before, however the game was postponed despite both teams wanting to play if I remember correctly. Another attraction to this game was the chance to meet a fellow groundhopper, Clint Jones of the 94th Minute. I’ve been meaning to meet up with Clint for a while, as we’ve crossed paths before although neither of us was aware of the fact until after the game we had attended had finished, which was this one for anyone curious; Ruthin Town vs Holywell Town.
I didn’t end up leaving Chorley until 11.30am, having meant to have left at 11am. The day before the game I’d offered to give Andy a lift to the match and back to save him from the horror of public transport, and arrived in Wrexham at 12.30pm, it felt odd to be back in the area, as I haven’t been to Wrexham since I left in 2016. It took around twenty minutes to get to Holywell, as the A55 behaved itself for once. One of the best things about Halkyn Road is the availability of parking, as there are plenty of spaces around the ground which is a beautiful thing when you have issues with anxiety.
Once we had parked up, we took a quick walk into Holywell to find a cash machine. Holywell looks to be a nice little town, and I regret not getting there earlier to have more of a look around. With cash in our pockets, we headed back to Halkyn Road, where we headed straight to the social club. I was hoping to find Wrexham Lager on tap, however my hopes were dashed and I settled for a pint of Fosters. I’m not the biggest fan of Fosters, I won’t lie and say that I hate it as it tastes alright but it’s not number one on my list of favourite beers/lagers. However, there is something about sitting in the stands with a pint of lager, watching the football. It’s a shame that there’s a minority of football fans that can’t be trusted to drink and watch football at the same time.
Halkyn Road is a glorious ground, and I’m already planning to come back when the weather is nicer. For the first half we sat under the cover along the touchline, and the view beyond the pitch looked like it had the potential to be spectacular. Unfortunately, it was rather grey and wet so there wasn’t much to see, which is why I plan to go back. Along with a potentially great view, Halkyn Road is a charming ground, the covered stand along the touchline is a fantastic example of a non-league stand. It’s clearly an old stand, and the seats are wooden benches, and that’s what makes it so brilliant! In fact, I would highly recommend visiting Halkyn Road based solely on this stand.
Whilst I’ve seen both teams play before, Holywell and Airbus, it has been a while. In fact, whilst looking for the blog posts for featuring each team, I noticed that I had written them before I began writing about the history of the clubs featured in the blog, so bear with me this may be rather long:
Football in Holywell can be traced back to a club simply known as Holywell, founded by Colonel J. Llewellyn Williams. There is further evidence of a Holywell team existing back in 1881, as records show that a Holywell team lost 3-0 in the First Round of the 1881-82 Welsh Cup at the hands of Northwich Victoria.
Back in March 1893, Holywell became one of the seven founder members of the North Wales Coast League, in the inaugural season of the competition Holywell finished fourth in the league. Three seasons of fifth place finishes followed this, ending in 1898 when the club finished sixth. Holywell were to reman in the North Wales Coast League until the end of the 1900-01 season, when the club was engulfed by the Baron Corvo episode of 1899, and by 1902 the club were defunct.
Football returned to Holywell in 1905, with the formation of Holywell United FC. The new Holywell club entered the North Wales Coast League for the 1912-13 season. Holywell United were to enjoy a successful run during the next few years, as they picked up the North Wales Coast League and Amateur Cup double in 1914.
After World War One, United continued their good pre-war form and finished league runners-up in 1921, scoring 92 goals that season. From the 1921-22 season until the 1928-29 season, Holywell competed in the newly formed Welsh National League (North), but this was to be a period of limited success. In 1929 the club changed their name and became Holywell Arcadians, competing in the Division Two (East) of the Welsh National Football League. The Arcadians were to be successful as they picked up two Welsh Football League titles in 1931 and 1933, as well as being runners-up in 1932.
Records between 1933 and 1947 are difficult to find, and it is appropriate to assume that during 1939-1945 football wasn’t played due to the Second World War. In 1946, soldiers returning from WW2 established Holywell Town at Halkyn Road, and began playing in the West Cheshire League Division One, where they spent two seasons and finished sixth both times. Holywell joined the Welsh League (North) in the 1949-50 season and went on to become league champions in 1953. Holywell Town maintained their membership of the Welsh League (North) for 17 seasons from the 1949-50 season until the 1965-66 season, when they finished bottom of the league, and as a result left the Welsh League (North) and played in the local football leagues.
Holywell were to remain in the local football league system until 1988 when they returned to the Welsh Alliance League. Town were founder members of the Cymru Alliance in 1990 and competed in the league for two seasons until the League of Wales was formed in 1992, and Holywell joined the League of Wales as founder members. Under the guidance of Glyn Griffiths, Holywell almost qualified for Europe, finishing 6th and 5th in the 1993 season and 1994 season respectively. Following Griffiths’ departure, the club slid down the league table, and were relegated back to the Cymru Alliance in 1997. They bounced back immediately and regained a place in the League of Wales for the 1998-99 season, however they were immediately relegated again, and haven’t graced the top flight of Welsh Football since.
Following relegation from the League of Wales, Holywell began to struggle in the Cymru Alliance, and flirted with relegation for several seasons until the 2005-06 season when they finished 17th in the league and were relegated to the Welsh Alliance. Holywell continued to struggle in the Welsh Alliance League, and their slide only stopped in the 2009-10 season when they finished tenth in the league. The next season saw a dramatic upturn in their fortunes as they finished an impressive 3rd place in the league, this season also saw them pick up their first silverware in 13 years as they won the FAW Trophy for the first time. The 2011-12 season picked up where the previous season had left off and Holywell continued to impress on the pitch, they lost only four games in the season, however crucially one of these defeats came at the hands of Holyhead Hotspur, and as a result Holywell finished as runners-up with Holyhead Hotspur winning the league by one point.
Holywell remained in the Welsh Alliance for the 2012-13 season, and despite not losing away from home all season in the league, they finished 3rd. Further heartbreak occurred in the 2013-14 season as the club again missed out on promotion to the Cymru Alliance, finishing second to Denbigh Town. Holywell were to make history in the Welsh Cup as they became the first third-tier side to make the semi-finals of the Welsh Cup, losing 3-1 to Aberystwyth Town.
The Wellmen finally achieved promotion in 2015 as they won the Welsh Alliance with three games remaining. As a result of winning the league they moved back into the Cymru Alliance where they have played ever since. Results this season haven’t been great for Holywell and they are currently sitting at the wrong end of the table.
I have to admit that I am surprised to see Airbus at this level, as the last time I saw them they were performing well in the Welsh Premier League, then again I was surprised to see Andy Preece (no relation) turn up at Chorley as a coach this year, as the last I remembered of Andy was him being in charge at Airbus.
Airbus UK Broughton Football Club were formed in 1946 and have been known by several names as the ownership of the nearby factory has changed over the years. Originally, they were Vickers-Armstrong, and have also been known as De Havillands, Hawker Siddeley, British Aerospace, and BAE Systems. Their early years were spent in the Chester & District League and the Wrexham Area Leagues. In 1992, they won the Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Division Two title, winning 28 out of 34 matches and scoring 130 goals.
The next four years were spent making steady improvements in the Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) Division One before gaining promotion to the Welsh National League Premier Division during the 1995-96 season when they finished as runners-up in Division One. Again, they spent the next four seasons consolidating their league position in the Premier Division before winning promotion in the 1999-00 season. It was also at this time that they became known as Airbus UK.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the next four seasons in the new league were spent gradually climbing the league finishing 11th, 8th and 5th before winning the league title in 2004 to gain entry to the Welsh Premier League. Relegation was narrowly avoided in their first season in the top-flight, and again the club began to gradually improve from season to season. The club changed their name once more at the start of the 2007-08 season, adding the village name to become Airbus UK Broughton FC.
Airbus qualified for the Europa League for the first time in 2013 as WPL runners-up, repeating the feat the following season, and making it three consecutive times in 2015 when they finished third in the league. The summer of 2016 was a difficult one for the club, as they saw several players leave for other Welsh Premier clubs, and Andy Preece left the club just three days before the start of the new season. Results on the pitch suffered and Airbus managed only five wins all season before being relegated back to the Cymru Alliance after thirteen seasons in the top flight.
Airbus have made a fantastic start to the season, and at the time of this match they sat top of the league with a 100%-win rate in all games. Given this I was rather disappointed by the first half. To describe the first half as dull would be complimentary. There were a few half chances, but neither side impressed, and the game resembled more of an end of season game featuring two already relegated teams.
The highlight of the first half for me was the hot dog that I had. Being a groundhopper I was rather curious to explore the rest of the ground and suggested to Andy that we took a walk to see what was contained within the rest of the stand. We got as far as the refreshment hut, where I was hoping to find that burgers were on offer, alas I had to settle for a rather nice hot dog.
Thankfully the half time whistle soon sounded, and we headed back to the social club. As I was driving, I switched to Diet Pepsi, although with the weather being as cold as it was, I probably should have had a coffee. For the second half, we sat in the stand behind the goal. This stand is one of those arena-type stands, that have started to (literally) pop-up at non-league grounds up and down the country. Some groundhoppers bemoan them, but in my opinion, they serve a purpose, helping to increase capacity quickly. Sure, they aren’t the prettiest of things, but they are temporary and therefore there’s nothing stopping the club from installing a more attractive permanent stand.
Unfortunately, we made a poor decision in sitting in this stand, as we found ourselves sat behind the Airbus keeper, who had very little to do in the second half. I suppose we could have moved around the ground and stood behind the opposite goal, where we would have had a better view of the goals, however the weather wasn’t the greatest and I wasn’t prepared to suggest leaving the safety of the cover.
Airbus opened the scoring in the 58th minute. The ball was whipped into the box from a free-kick and bounced down to the feet of Asa Hamilton who fired home. Airbus looked like a much better side in the second half, and I can see why they are performing so well in the league so far.
Lewis Buckley made it 2-0 in the 75th minute as he latched onto a through ball from Asa Hamilton and fired home past Andy Hughes. Holywell created some chances in this period, but they fizzled out as soon as they entered the box. The frustration in the Holywell players was evident, and all they need is a bit of luck.
That luck wasn’t to come today and Airbus made it 3-0 in the 85th minute, as Lewis Buckley doubled his personal tally. Again, defending at set-pieces was to be Holywell’s downfall, as Matt McGinn’s free kick was initially saved well by Hughes however the ball wasn’t cleared and Buckley slotted home.
I mentioned at the start of the blog that this was an opportunity to meet up with Clint Jones, however I didn’t meet him until the end of the game. As the final whistle drew nearer, I suggested to Andy that we head towards the exit, and as we made our way behind the back of the goal, I happened to bump into Clint. As it was, I had been looking at the back of his head for a while wondering if it was Clint or not, as he had been stood behind the same goal as I was for the second half. Social anxiety stopped me from asking him earlier, as I didn’t want to embarrass myself. Unfortunately, I had also had to put my phone on “airplane” mode to save battery and couldn’t contact him on Twitter as a result. I am happy that I did briefly get to meet and speak to a fellow groundhopper, and hopefully in the future I’ll bump into him again.
Final Score: Holywell Town 0-3 Airbus UK Broughton (Hamilton 58, Buckley 75, 85)
The win for Airbus seemed to be a foregone conclusion at the start of the match, however I am still surprised by how long it took for Airbus to open the scoring, with the first half being one of the worst halves of football that I’ve ever watched. The second half did make up for that, and I can’t see Airbus remaining at this level for much longer, as they are pretty much destined to get back into the Welsh Premier League.
Holywell just need a bit of luck; the ability is there but they are allowing themselves to become frustrated. I can understand the frustration as it isn’t easy when things aren’t going your way, and it’s the sign of a good team when teams in similar positions turn things around. Hopefully for Holywell they’ll turn things around soon, as I enjoyed my day at Halkyn Road and want to wish both sides all the best for the remainder of the season.
Following the game, I drove Andy back to Wrexham, and once I’d dropped him off, I quickly made my way back up to Chorley, arriving home at around 6pm, which was better than I expected. If today taught me anything, depression-wise, its that I need to start doing more of these meet-ups. Part of my anxiety is not finding anywhere to park, and the presence of another person is always good as it forces me to think more rationally. Anyway, thanks to Andy for coming with me today, we need to do it again soon!
Cost: £6 entry with a programme, although I’m not sure about this, as there were two guys on the turnstile, one keeping a tally and the other handing money, and I’m sure the guy doing the tally said £7, but I received £4 change. I’m not sure if I’ve misheard the first guy or not! £3 for a pint of fosters (£6 overall), £2 hot-dog, and I’m not sure what the can of Diet Pepsi cost as that was part of Andy’s round!
Attendance: 180
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/139632000@N07/albums/72157698342439180
David's Adventures in Groundhopping 