By James Dow
Ahead of today’s JD Cymru Premier MD17 encounter at the Ogi Bridge Meadow, we’ve taken a closer look at Colwyn Bay with Meet the Opposition!
History
Colwyn Bay have played a significant role in the progression of Welsh football since their founding in 1881. The club joined the North Wales Coast League in 1898, remaining there until the league folded 23 years later. Then known as Colwyn Bay United, they moved into the Welsh National League, where they enjoyed success in the late 1920s, finishing as league runners-up and winning the League Cup twice in three years.
When the Welsh National League folded during the 1929-30 season, the Bay became founding members of the North Wales Football Combination and won the league in its inaugural campaign. The club later spent a brief spell in the Birmingham & District League during the 1930s before returning to the Welsh National League (North) for the 1937-38 season.
Colwyn Bay’s first league title came in the 1964-65 season, and a strong period followed in the 1980s, with two further league titles and a run to the Welsh Cup semi-finals, where they lost 4-0 on aggregate to Swansea City.
The Bay rejoined the English football system in 1984 but soon became embroiled in a dispute with the Football Association of Wales at the end of the 1991-92 season. They were instructed either to join the newly formed League of Wales or cease playing in the country. Following a court ruling, Colwyn Bay were permitted to continue playing in England and formally returned to Welsh football in 1994. During this period, the club enjoyed memorable FA Cup runs, facing the likes of Blackpool, Wrexham and Notts County.
The Bay reached Conference North in the 2010-11 season via the play-offs but were relegated the following year and later dropped to the Northern Premier League’s Premier Division. In 2019, the club rejoined the Welsh football pyramid, entering the newly formed Cymru North.
The 2022-23 campaign proved one of the club’s most successful, with Colwyn Bay winning the League Cup North and the Cymru North title, losing only once and setting a run of 25 consecutive victories to secure promotion to the Cymru Premier. Although they were relegated in their first season back in the top flight, the setback was short-lived as they finished first the following season to earn an immediate return to the Cymru Premier.
Form
The Bay have been in strong form recently, securing five wins from their last seven matches in all competitions. Their only defeat came in a 4-1 loss to Barry Town United two weeks ago, a match in which they played with ten men for just over an hour. They responded well with a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Llanelli Town last Saturday, and now sit fifth in the table on 24 points, three points ahead of sixth-placed Cardiff Met and four behind joint third Connah’s Quay and Caernarfon.
Manager
Michael Wilde was appointed manager of the Seagulls in March 2024, taking on his first role in management after a distinguished playing career in Welsh football with The New Saints, Connah’s Quay Nomads, and Flint Town United. Wilde began his career at Poulton Victoria before joining The New Saints in 2002.
In 2009, he moved to England for spells with Fleetwood Town, Halifax Town, and Chester, before returning to the Saints in 2012. A prolific forward, Wilde is the Cymru Premier’s third-highest all-time goal scorer. Over the course of his career, he has won nine Cymru Premier titles, six Welsh Cups, and five League Cups, and has twice been named Cymru Premier Player of the Season, in 2012-13 and 2020-21.
In his debut season as Bay manager, he guided the club to automatic promotion to the Cymru Premier and now aims to establish them in the top flight of Welsh football.
Captain
Defender Sam Hart joined the Seagulls in 2022 and has made over a century of appearances for the north Wales side. He began his career at Preston North End and also had spells with Airbus UK and Bangor City before first joining the Bay in 2019.
Harte was unable to make an appearance for the Seagulls at that time due to the Covid-19 pandemic and instead joined Cymru Premier side Flint Town United, where he played 60 times and scored twice, helping the club reach the Cymru Premier play-off final.
He later returned to Colwyn Bay and was named Supporters’ Player of the Season in 2022-23 during their Cymru North title-winning campaign. He was appointed captain following the retirement of Tom McCready at the start of last season, leading the team on their return to the Cymru Premier.
So far this season, Harte has made 12 appearances and registered two assists from the left-hand side.
Key players
Jordan Davies will be a name well known to many Bluebirds fans, having scored 21 goals in 50 appearances during his time at the Ogi Bridge Meadow and finishing as the club’s top scorer with 15 goals in the 2022-23 season.
Davies began his career with Prestatyn Town, where he made over 50 appearances in all competitions and scored 24 goals. He impressed in the 2019-20 Cymru North campaign, netting 14 goals in 19 league appearances, earning him a move to National League North side Telford United. He made 16 appearances for the Bucks before joining King’s Lynn in March of that season, where he featured three times.
The forward returned to Wales in the summer of 2021, making 16 appearances and scoring three goals before securing a loan move to Pembrokeshire in January 2022. He hit the ground running for the Bluebirds, scoring six goals in 13 appearances, which led to him signing permanently the following summer. After one and a half seasons with the club, Davies returned to north Wales to rejoin Connah’s Quay Nomads, where he scored 26 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions.
In the summer of 2023, he moved to Scotland to join Championship side Greenock Morton FC, making 46 appearances and scoring twice. Davies then returned to north Wales ahead of the current season, signing for Colwyn Bay.
So far, the forward is the Bay’s top scorer with seven goals in 16 league appearances. He scored twice in the reverse fixture against the Bluebirds in September and has been in good form recently, finding the net twice in his last three matches, including the opening goal in the 3-1 victory over Llanelli Town last Saturday.
At the other end of the pitch Sol Forde has been ever-present at the back for Colwyn Bay, playing every minute of their Cymru Premier campaign so far. The 20-year-old played his junior football with Penrhyn Bay and Llandudno Junction, while also featuring in the academy set-ups at Llandudno and Chester – where he won Academy Player of the Year with the Seals in 2023.
During his time at Chester, Forde was sent on loan to then JD Cymru North side Flint Town United, where he enjoyed a highly successful first season in senior football. He helped the Silkmen finish second in the table and earn promotion to the Cymru Premier, making 29 league appearances and scoring five goals, including a first-half brace in a 4-0 win over Prestatyn Town.
The central defender then joined the Seagulls at the start of the 2024-25 season and, as he had done with Flint, helped the Bay secure promotion to the Cymru Premier, making 27 league appearances and scoring five times.
So far this season, Forde has one goal to his name, which came in a 2-0 victory away at Briton Ferry Llansawel in October.
