PICTURE BY John Elfryn Owen shows Llanerchymedd star Gwion Thomas in action.
COMPETITION is hotting up in tier five and with that comes plenty of prolific goal-scorers who have impressed so far.
Plenty of players are on 6 goals for the season in all North Wales Coast West Division One competitions. Those include Adrian Roberts of Bethesda Athletic, Marc Parry of Cefni and Luke Owen of Llanfairpwll.
Bethesda Athletic’s Scott Hughes is also on 6 goals in just five matches (but did also score 7 in 7 for Glantraeth who play in tier four before departing for Pesda).
So we start the countdown here from 7 goals …
Keenan Downey (Cemaes Bay) – 7 goals in 16 appearances
Goals in 2019/20: 15 in 22 appearances
Cemaes skipper was my Anglesey League Player of the Season in 2019/20 when he guided the club to league title glory.
The midfielder has once again been a joy to watch for Bay this season as they once again push for the title in what is the inaugural North Wales Coast West Division One season.
After a shaky start to the 21/22 campaign, Cemaes are now top of the tier 5 table and Downey has again been an influential figure for them.
Garem Jones (Talysarn Celts) – 7 goals in 16 appearances
Guto Llywelyn (Waunfawr) – 7 goals in 15 appearances
Hard-working central midfielder and captain of The Beganifs who has been a real star man for them so far this season.
33-year-old Llywelyn is a real battler who is never afraid to get stuck in for his side and has shown a great eye for goal so far too.
Shaun Roberts (Waunfawr) – 7 goals in 14 appearances
Cai Edwards (Bontnewydd) 7 goals in 11 appearances
Andy Williams (Cemaes Bay) – 7 goals in 11 appearances
Goals in 2019/20: 19
Andy Wills is truly like a fine wine as he seems to just get better with age.
Having scored 149 goals in just 177 appearances at long term club Bro Goronwy, the 40-year-old made the switch to Cemaes in 2019/20 and helped them win the last ever Anglesey League title by contributing 19 goals.
If there’s one thing this veteran forward promises it’s goals and he’s once again proved that this season.
Noa Hughes (Bethesda Athletic) – 7 goals in 9 appearances
Seriously talented young midfielder/attacker (who has also played in goal for Athletic this season!) who burst onto the scene just days after his 16th birthday with a goal in a 1-1 draw v Caergybi.
Noa, whose dad Mark is manager of the club and whose brothers Daniel and Osian also play for Athletic, is certainly one to keep an eye on this season and for many years to come too.
Aled Rice (Mountain Rangers) – 7 goals in 10 appearances
Mike Lundstram (Bethesda Athletic) – 7 goals in 8 appearances
James Burgess (Llanerchymedd) – 8 goals in 19 appearances
Glyn Hughes-Thomas (Talysarn Celts) – 8 goals in 18 appearances
Goals in 2019/20: 13
The main man at Talysarn Celts in 2019/20 as the club also impressed by finishing fifth in what was as a very competitive Gwynedd League.
On top of that, the attacker also won Player of the Season and Supporters Player of the Season for his efforts.
This season he has again proven to be a key component of a Celts side who are pushing for the title in tier five.
Tomos Williams (Llanystumdwy) – 8 goals in 16 appearances
Steven Jones (Bodorgan) – 8 goals in 12 appearances
Bodorgan are improving season on season and with that comes even more talented players wanting to sign on and be part of the club’s journey.
Jones has arguably been the most important signing they’ve made in recent times.
He’s popped up with some important performances fo the clubs so far and has provided plenty of goals from the midfield too.
James Ryan (Holyhead Town) – 8 goals in 11 appearances
Goals in 2019/20: 11 for Caergybi and 4 for Glantraeth
A man who destroyed goal scoring records back in 2018/18 when he netted 74 goals for Caergybi in the Anglesey League.
A season before he bagged 56 whilst with Bryngwran Bulls in the same division. So he certainly knows where the goal is!
Ryan hasn’t played all too often for Town this season but when he has he’s continued to show great form in front of goal.
Mark Godfrey (Llanystumdwy) – 9 goals in 14 appearances
Goals in 2019/20: 10
An attacking midfielder/forward who has been so pivotal for his club over the years, even for the club’s Reserves side as far back as 2009. That year, he netted a goal in the club’s 3-2 Moorings Cup final win over Machno United at Llanrug.
Godfrey was once again instrumental in the Gwynedd League in 2019/20 as he hit ten goals – a tally which he is already just 1 goals shy of this season. One of the highlights of his season came when he bagged a hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Llanerchymedd in November 2019.
He’s a real physical presence within the side and a key player at Stumdwy.
Kaine Bentley (Holyhead Town) – 9 goals in 14 appearances
18-year-old attacker who opened his campaign with a brace in the winner over Llanfairpwll before scoring two more goals in July against Bodorgan and Llangoed respectively.
Since then, Bentley, whose brother Mike also plays in goal for Town, has taken his tally up to 9 goals in 14 league appearances for the club and has also shown great creativity by providing five assists for team mates.
He’s another great young star to keep an
Adam Jones (Waunfawr) – 10 goals in 17 appearances
Matty Roberts (Cemaes Bay) – 10 goals in 16 appearances
Mark Jones (Llanerchymedd) – 10 goals in 15 appearances
Kyle Hartleb (Bethesda Athletic) – 11 goals in 18 appearances
Tomos Hughes (Bethesda Athletic) – 11 goals in 14 appearances
Marky Holland (Llanfairpwll) 12 goals in 15 appearances
Having played with Marky in the past in my very brief Sunday League playing days, I’ve always known he’s got the talent and the confidence to be a fantastic player and at Llanfairpwll he really seems to have settled in well and is clearly enjoying his football there.
The 25-year-old was previously a key figure for Pentraeth in the Welsh Alliance, where he contributed many a goal.
Since signing for Pwll in the summer though he has been in formidable form in front of goal and looks like scoring in every game at the moment.
The club should enjoy a great season come the summer and I have no doubt that he will have a huge role to play in any success they may enjoy.
Joe Todd (Bethesda Athletic) – 12 goals in 14 appearances
Anthony Williams (Llangoed) – 13 goals in 16 appearances
Attacker who has enjoyed a simply incredible season for his club so far and is living proof of what playing which confidence can do for a player.
Williams arrived at Tyddyn Paun from Llandegfan in the summer, alongside manager Arron Evans who took over Llangoed Reserves.
At Llandeg, he helped the club onto its first win in 2-and-a-half years in a 2-1 win at Pentraeth Reserves in January 2020 – a game in which he was Man of the Match.
He’s a player who possesses great pace, determination and an ever-improving eye for goal. A real threat for Llangoed going forward.
Gwion Thomas (Llanerchymedd) – 13 goals in 14 appearances
Jac Jones (Talysarn Celts) – 16 goals in 18 appearances
Gary Jo Owen (Caergybi) – 17 goals in 16 appearances
Goals in 2019/20: 16 at Holyhead Town (expunged due to club folding), 3 at Caergybi
One of the island’s most experienced forwards by now and one of the most prolific down the years too, having racked up more than 200 goals across various levels of the North Wales football pyramid.
32-year-old Gary Jo’s finest goalscoring season came in my very first of properly covering local football as he netted 58 goals for Caergybi back in 2017/18.
The former Morawelon and Holyhead Town forward returned to Cybi in the summer, following a brief spell with the now extinct Trearddur Bay Bulls in friendlies during Covid-19, and has again proven just how great he is in front o of goal.
I’m certain there’s many more goals to come from him this season!
Jay Finter (Llanfairpwll) 17 in 14 in all comps
Pwll are flying in tier five, currently sitting in 5th in the table, and having recently beaten league-leaders Cemaes Bay 2-0 in their own back yard.
20-year-old attacker Finter, who previously played for Llangoed, has been a huge part of that success to date.
He was off the mark this season with a goal and an assist in a big 3-2 win over title-chasing Bethesda Athletic back on July 15.
The highlights of Finter’s season to date included scoring a brace in a 3-1 at former club Llangoed before scoring another double against them just a week later in a dramatic 4-3 win over the same club at Maes Eilian.
In that encounter, played on August 27, Finter headed home a last-gasp header to secure a huge 3 points for Pwll over a side who have seemingly become their bitter rivals.
He’s a player that’s oozing confidence at this moment in time and it’s great to see. A very bright future lays ahead for the player should he continue in this rich vein of form with a Pwll side who are real dark horses in tier five this season.
Matty Reynolds (Cemaes Bay) – 17 goals in 13 appearances
Without a doubt one of the signings of the season who has helped Cemaes turn their fortunes around after a poor start.
After bagging 2 goals in 2 matches for tier four Aberffraw, Reynolds departed for School Lane where he has become a truly influential figure for Darren Thomas’ Cemaes side.
The 31-year-old midfielder, who has been playing in a more forward role for his current club, marked his debut with a goal in a 2-2 draw v Bodorgan.
The highlight of his Cemaes career to date however was probably the 4-goal haul he netted in a 9-0 win over Holyhead Town last month.
Top, top player who won the Anglesey League with Bryngwran Bulls back in 2018
Luke Baum (Talysarn Celts) – 20 goals in 16 appearances
Goals in 2019/20: 12
Celts’ main man during this campaign is their Young Player of the Season from 2019/20 who has already smashed the amount of goals he scored that season by 8.
Baum has been in unstoppable form throughout, starting this season by netting 5 goals in the opening day 9-0 win over Bodorgan.
The 20-year-old has been a real threat to many a defender and has been one of the best players in the division so far.
Louis Chapman (Caergybi) – 26 goals in 16 appearances
Very few players could have enjoyed a better goal scoring season in their first campaign in men’s football than this man has done already this season.
A blistering start to the campaign, which saw Chapman score at least 1 goal in each of his 8 opening matches for Caergybi, certainly got people talking.
Despite being 20 years old, this is the attacker’s first season in senior football and he’s playing in the same team as brothers Floyd, who is 21 and Jake, who is 18.
Described by several team mates as ‘fearless’, he certainly looks like he could be one of tier five’s hidden gems this season as he’s already proving to be a real threat to defenders.
A naturally gifted finisher – can Chapman even go on to finish as the league’s top scorer come the end of the season?
One thing is for certain – he seems to be Holyhead’s next rising star in the local footballing world.
Sion Parry (Llanystumdwy) – 29 goals in 18 appearances
Goals in 2019/20: 9 for Bangor 1876
It is absolutely no surprise to see this prolific forward leading this great pick of goalscorers as his record over the years has been sensational.
Parry, who returned to Llanystumdwy in the summer, is a 5-time Gwynedd League top scorer (2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18).
His highest-scoring season to date came back in 2017/18 when he netted 60 goals for Stumdwy.
The highlight of his 21/22 season so far undoubtedly came as he netted his 300th Llanystumdwy goal via a free kick in a 10-2 win over Llangoed at Dwyfor Park in September.
It’ll be hard for others to catch up to the former Porthmadog and Bangor 1876 man in the goal scoring department this season in my opinion.
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