By James Dow

Ahead of this evening’s encounter at Maes Tegid, we’ve taken a closer look at Bala Town with Meet the Opposition!

The history

Bala Town were founded in 1880, but the first record of the Lakesiders playing in the National League came in the 1921-22 season. Bala moved to Maes Tegid in the early 1950s, and have played there ever since. During the 1950s and early 1960s, the Lakesiders participated in the Welsh National League (Wrexham Area) and the Cambrian Coast League before rejoining the National League during the 1963-64 season. Bala were promoted to division two in 1967-68, and achieved back-to-back promotions to reach Division One. The Lakesiders remained in the top division for 20 years before being relegated in the 1987-88 season. The club spent the next 15 years moving between the top two divisions before manager Colin Caton arrived during the 2003-04 season. Caton won the Welsh National League title during his first season at the club, before entering the Cymru Alliance in the next season. Bala spent five seasons in the Cymru Alliance before being promoted to the then-Welsh Premier League in 2008-09. The Lakesiders have been in the top-flight ever since, while also qualifying for Europe numerous times and facing off against the likes of AIK Fotboll of Sweden, Standard Liege of Belgium and Northern Irish side, Larne. Their most recent European campaign came at the start of this season, where they lost 3-2 to Estonian side Paide Linnameeskond in the UEFA Conference League first qualifying round.

The form

The Lakesiders are currently on a five-game unbeaten run, including a special victory away from home against last season’s champions The New Saints. Bala have only lost two matches from 12 so far this season, and are the joint-second highest scorers in the league with Cardiff Met on 16 goals, with only TNS scoring more. They currently sit one place below the Bluebirds in fourth place, with this being the first meeting between the sides since January – where a late Luke Wall goal saw Bala come out on top 3-2 at the Ogi Bridge Meadow.

The manager

Colin Caton has spent his entire coaching career at the Lakesiders, joining the club in 2003. Caton has been in charge of over 520 games for Bala, with the Englishman winning over 250 of those matches with an average points per match of 1.62. Caton took a short break from coaching to take up a director of football role at the club during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 season, before returning to the dugout. Caton also played in Wales during his career, spending time at Colwyn Bay and Rhyl. Caton is also the father of 21-year-old Charlie, who plays his football at Chester FC while also being part of the academy setup at League One sides Wrexham and Shrewsbury Town.

The captain

Nathan Peate was named club captain after midfielder and club legend Kieran Smith retired during the summer. The defender has made over 140 appearances for the Lakesiders, scoring 23 goals in all competitions in what is his fifth season at the club. Peate was also on the score sheet during their European campaign this summer, netting in the second leg against Paide Linnameeskond. The defender started his career at Flint Town United, while also having a short spell at Llandudno before joining Cefn Druids, where he made over 100 appearances before moving to Bala in 2020. Peate has also made one appearance for Cymru C in a 2-2 draw away to England C in April 2019.  

Key Player

Forward George Newell has had a great start to the season, scoring three goals in five league matches for the Lakesiders. Newell started his career with Everton before moving to Bolton Wanderers, where he made two Championship appearances during the 2015-16 season. After a short loan spell at AFC Flyde, Newell moved to Scotland where he joined top-flight side Motherwell. He would go on to make 10 appearances for the Steelmen over two seasons. Newell also had a short loan spell at Raith Rovers during the second half of the 2018-19 season, where he scored two goals in 11 appearances. The forward then moved back to England to join National League side Southport where he spent three seasons, scoring seven goals. Newell then moved to the Lakesiders, which has been by far the most successful period of his career, scoring 34 goals and registering 11 assists in 83 games while also finishing as Bala’s top goal scorer last season.  

They wore both shirts

Henry Jones joined the Bluebirds from Bala ahead of the 2021-22 season. The midfielder made 38 appearances and scored four goals in all competitions for County, and featured in both of the European play-off matches during the 2022-23 season. Jones started his career at Swansea City, and had spells at Bangor City and AFC Flyde before joining the Lakesiders in 2018. He made 93 appearances for the club, scoring 28 goals and setting up 38 in what was the most successful time of his career. Jones moved to south Wales after his spell at the Bluebirds, joining Penybont where he would go on to make 29 appearances before joining Cymru South outfit, Llanelli Town this summer. He has scored three goals in nine appearances so far this season. Jones also made two appearances for Cymru under-19s under then-manager Bryan Flynn, while also making a senior appearance for Cymru C in 2019 in the 2-2 draw with England C.