The 2022–23 Ardal NW season (also known as the 2022–23 Lock Stock Ardal NW season for sponsorship reasons) is the second season of the new third-tier northern region football in Welsh football pyramid, part of the Ardal Leagues.
| Season | 2022–23 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Denbigh Town |
| Promoted | Denbigh Town Bangor 1876 |
| Relegated | Rhostyllen |
| Matches played | 182 |
| Goals scored | 714 (3.92 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | 37 Goals: Corrig McGonigle (Bangor 1876) |
| Biggest home win | Denbigh Town 9-1 Brickfield Rangers (13 January 2023) Denbigh Town 8-0 C.P.D. Y Felinheli (20 January 2023) |
| Biggest away win | Saltney Town 0-5 Denbigh Town (12 November 2022) Llangefni Town 2-7 Bangor 1876 (9 December 2022) Hawarden Rangers 0-5 Flint Mountain (4 February 2023) Llandudno Albion 2-7 Rhostyllen (1 April 2023) Brickfield Rangers 0-5 Flint Mountain (19 April 2023) |
| Highest scoring | Rhostyllen 6–6 Llay Welfare (15 April 2023) |
| Highest attendance | 840 *Bangor 1876 2-1 C.P.D. Y Rhyl 1879 (8 April 2023) |
| Lowest attendance | 27 *Saltney Town 0-2 Llanrwst United (15 April 2023) |
| Average attendance | 100 |
← 2021–22 2023–24 → | |
Teams edit
The league was made up of 16 teams competing for one automatic promotion place to Cymru North, whilst the second-placed team qualified for a play-off with the second-placed team of Ardal NE. Three teams are relegated to Tier 4.
On 21 September 2022, Rhydymwyn FC notified the Football Association of Wales of their withdrawal from the Ardal Leagues. Announcing on Social Media, Rhydymwyn FC said: “Sad day today to announce Rhydymwyn FC & Rhydymwyn Development have resigned from @ArdalNorthwest and the Wales FA Reserve League. Our Juniors & mini teams will continue. Further statement from the club will be announced in due course.”[1]
Bodedern Athletic withdrew from the Ardal Leagues on 7 December 2022. In a statement, Bodedern Athletic said: “A difficult decision has been made that Bodedern Athletic have withdrawn their membership of the Ardal North West League. After a club meeting, the small group of volunteers running the club felt they had on option but to resign. The last couple of months have been difficult in trying to field a team, as many players have departed for various reasons, and not being able to sign players because of having transfer windows in Tier 3 of Welsh football. With no help or assistance from the League there was only one outcome.”[2]
On 24 February 2023, Llandudno Albion announced that the club will disband at the end of the current season due to the difficulty in securing a home ground. A statement on the club's Facebook page said: "After 9 years, 272 games, 862 goals, three promotions, five trophies and a FAW trophy final, this will be the last season for Llandudno Albion. As part of the tier 3 licence for next season we must have a ground share agreement in place by March 1st which is obviously not possible at Llandudno at the moment.”[3]
Team changes edit
To Ardal NW editPromoted from North East Wales Football League Premier Division Promoted from North Wales Coast East Football League Premier Division Promoted from North Wales Coast West Football League Premier Division Relegated from Cymru North
|
From Ardal NW editPromoted to Cymru North Relegated Transferred to Ardal NE
|
Stadia and locations edit
| Team | Location | Home Ground | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangor 1876 | Bangor | Treborth | 3,400 |
| Bodedern Athletic | Bodedern | Cae Ty Cristion | 1,000 |
| Brickfield Rangers | Wrexham | Clywedog Park | 1,000 |
| C.P.D. Y Rhyl 1879 | Rhyl | Belle Vue | 3,000 |
| Denbigh Town | Denbigh | Central Park | 1,200 |
| Flint Mountain | Pentre Halkyn | Cae-y-Castell | 2,000 |
| Hawarden Rangers | Hawarden | Gladstone Playing Fields | 1,000 |
| Llandudno Albion | Llandudno | Maesdu Park | 1,013 |
| Llangefni Town | Llangefni | Cae Bob Parry | 4,500 |
| Llanrwst United | Llanrwst | Gwydyr Park | 2,000 |
| Llay Welfare | Llay | The Ring | 1,000 |
| Nantlle Vale | Penygroes | Maes Dulyn | 1,000 |
| Rhostyllen | Rhostyllen | Vicarage Hill | 1,000 |
| Rhydymwyn | Rhydmwyn | Vicarage Road | 1,000 |
| Saltney Town | Saltney | Saltney Community Centre | 1,000 |
| Y Felinheli | Y Felinheli | Cae Seilo | 1,000 |
Source: Ardal NW Ground Information
Personnel edit
| Team | Head coach | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| Bangor 1876 |  Michael Johnston
|
Les Davies
|
| Bodedern Athletic | Ricky Williams
|
Casey Boylan
|
| Brickfield Rangers | Gareth Wilson
|
Chris Dixon
|
| Denbigh Town | Dewi Llion
|
Paul Fleming
|
| Y Felinheli | Euron Davies
|
Aled Griffith
|
| Flint Mountain |  Aden Shannon
|
Peter Martin
|
| Hawarden Rangers | Andy Butler
|
Ellis Jones
|
| Llandudno Albion | Darren Jones
|
Joel Lloyd
|
| Llangefni Town | James Saxon
|
James Saxon
|
| Llanrwst United | Barry Owen
|
Thomas Jones
|
| Llay Welfare | Mike Gadie
|
Dean Bryan
|
| Nantlle Vale | Sion Eifion Jones
|
Matthew Davies
|
| Rhostyllen | Warren Aykroyd-Duckett
|
Steven Jones
|
| Rhydymwyn | Anthony Weaver
|
Harry Massey
|
| Y Rhyl 1879 | Gareth Thomas
|
Reece Fairhurst
|
| Saltney Town | Andy Dutton
|
Tom Wells
|
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denbigh Town (C, P) | 26 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 89 | 25 | +64 | 67 | Promotion to Cymru North |
| 2 | Bangor 1876 (O, P) | 26 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 82 | 34 | +48 | 65 | Qualification for the Ardal Northern Play-Off |
| 3 | C.P.D. Y Rhyl 1879 | 26 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 63 | 32 | +31 | 59 | |
| 4 | Flint Mountain | 26 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 60 | 36 | +24 | 52 | |
| 5 | Nantlle Vale | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 44 | 45 | −1 | 39 | |
| 6 | Llangefni Town | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 42 | 47 | −5 | 36 | |
| 7 | Llanrwst United | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 43 | 46 | −3 | 35 | |
| 8 | Brickfield Rangers | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 46 | 66 | −20 | 35 | |
| 9 | Llay Welfare | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 51 | 56 | −5 | 33 | |
| 10 | Saltney Town | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 37 | 51 | −14 | 26 | |
| 11 | Llandudno Albion | 26 | 6 | 2 | 18 | 40 | 64 | −24 | 20 | Club folded |
| 12 | C.P.D. Y Felinheli | 26 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 31 | 67 | −36 | 19 | |
| 13 | Hawarden Rangers | 26 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 36 | 61 | −25 | 18 | |
| 14 | Rhostyllen (R) | 26 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 50 | 84 | −34 | 15 | Relegation to Tier 4 |
| 15 | Bodedern Athletic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Club withdrew |
| 16 | Rhydymwyn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Matches won; 5) Play-off.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Results edit
Top Goalscorers - League Only edit
37 Goals: Corrig McGonigle (Bangor 1876)
19 Goals: Nathan Brown (Denbigh Town)
18 Goals: Matthew Worrall (Denbigh Town, Llay Welfare)
17 Goals: Andrew Vale (Brickfield Rangers)
16 Goals: Matty Jones (Llangefni Town)
Source: [2]
References edit
- ^ davenwsport (21 September 2022). "Sad day as Rhydymwyn FC senior teams resign from respective leagues". NWSport. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Jones, Jordan (7 December 2022). "Bodedern Athletic withdraw from Ardal Leagues as North Wales football suffers another setback". Y Clwb Pêl-Droed. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ Lewis, Thomas (24 February 2023). "'End of an era' as successful North Wales football club set to fold". North Wales Live. Retrieved 24 February 2023.