Conwy Borough FC

amated to form Conwy United. In 1981/82 the club won the Welsh Intermediate Cup (now called the FAW Welsh Trophy) and the club also won the Welsh Alliance League title in 1984/85 and 1985/86. In 1990 the club became founder members of the Cymru Alliance League and finished in the top seven both seasons that they were members. In 1992 the club became founder members of the League of Wales.The club finished a creditable 7th place in its first season and in 1995/96 finished in 3rd place under the guidance of John Hulse, with Ken McKenna setting a club scoring record of 49 goals in a season. The club qualified for the InterToto Cup and played Charleroi (Belgium) and SV Reid (Austria) at The Racecourse, Wrexham, and travelled to Zeglebie Lubin (Poland) and Silkeborg (Denmark). Despite not progressing past the group stage, the club gave a good account of itself especially with a 0-0 draw against Charleroi and losing to a late goal against SV Reid. In the following three seasons the club reached the semi-finals of the Welsh Cup twice, and also qualified for the FAW Premier Cup twice, most notably holding Swansea City to 0-0 draw at The Vetch. However the financial burden had began to take its toll on the club and in 2000 were relegated. The club decided not to progress to the next level being the Cymru Alliance and instead accepted an invitation to join the Welsh Alliance League. In its second season the club was League runners-up and Cookson Cup runners-up. The following two seasons were very difficult both on and off the field but the return of Nigel Roberts as manager kept the club up and the 2004-05 season started tremendously well with the club sitting at the top of the League. However, tragedy struck when Nigel Roberts was killed in a road accident, but the team showed great strength and character to keep fighting. The league slipped just out of reach but under the guidance of Danny McGoona reached the final of the Cookson Cup again, only to lose out 4-3 to Bethesda in one of the most dramatic finals for years. Barry Jones returned as Manager and a young Conwy side clinched the Cookson Cup. An extra time penalty from Matty Bennett won the trophy against rivals Llandudno Junction at Maesdu whilst in the league the club finished sixth. In 2010/11 Paul Moroney took charge at Y Morfa in one of the most successful seasons of the clubs recent history, although losing the first game of the season away at Denbigh, Moroney’s side went on to win the Welsh Alliance Division One and gain promotion to the Huws Gray Cymru Alliance. Conwy also reached the final of the FAW Trophy where they led by two goals to nil until the 91st minute and somehow conceded three goals in as many minutes to gift Holywell Town the Trophy in one of the most dramatic finals in years. Conwy United also won the Fairplay League with young striker Toby Jones picking up the top goalscorer award with a 40 plus goals tally in all competitions. In the 2011/12 season, Conwy got off to a flying start in the 2nd tier of Welsh football winning their first four games under the new management team of Steve Jones and Dean Martin. However, the promising form dropped dramatically and in December the duo left the club and the new chairman, Geoff Cartwright, appointed Mick McGraa as manager. The club signed a number of key players including local lad, Robbie Williams, Dean Canning, Eddie Jebb & John Owen (both on-loan from Bangor). Results began to improve instantly and the club secured safety and a 10th place finish. Mick McGraa left the club at the end of the season to be replaced by former Welshpool manager, Chris Herbert, who was appointed as the new first team manager in May 2012 with John Keegan joining as his assistant. In June 2012 the Football Association of Wales approved a name change request from the club to be renamed Conwy Borough F.C. To fit with the name change, a new club badge was chosen by supporters via the clubs website as part of a re-branding of the club. The club enjoyed a successful first season under the new name with a third place finish in the Huws Gray Alliance and finished the season by winning the Huws Gray league cup on penalties against Caersws in the final, despite having a number of players cup-tied. Chris Herbert and John Keegan left their posts in December 2013 and were replaced by players Darren Moss and Aden Shannon until the end, the duo going on to finish in second place. In February 2014 the club announced that Moss and his assistant Shannon had signed permanently and would continue to be in charge of first team affairs for the 2014/15 season. A great deal of work has gone in to improve Y Morfa Stadium as the club work towards securing an FAW club license. Past players for the club who have gone on to the Football League include; Neville Southall, Carl Dale and Kevin Ellison.