Prestatyn Town F.C.

Prestatyn Town Football Club, known in Welsh as Clwb Pêl Droed Tref Prestatyn, is a professional side from Prestatyn in Denbighshire. They currently compete in the . Football in Prestatyn dates back to the early 1890s, with matches played on a rough field on Marine Road. Other pitches around town were used until the 1930s, when the club settled at the Bastion Road ground behind what is now the Central Beach Club.

The early history is patchy, as many local teams folded after a season or two. Prestatyn Town played its first recorded match on 20 October 1910, a 3–2 win away at Rhyl Amateurs. One early side had some staying power, winning the North Wales Coast FA Junior Cup in 1928–29. Manager Sam Bennett handled training, acted as linesman, chaired the committee, and wrote match reports for the local press.

Though never a major force in North Wales football before or between the wars, Prestatyn attracted notable players. Left back Alf Smith kept his age secret but enjoyed a long career with the club before finishing at Penmaenmawr. Others included wing-half George Drummond, winger-cum-centre forward Roger Jones (who had also played for Rhyl in the Birmingham League), the Roberts brothers Alf and George, and ‘Cunnie’ Jones, who left Prestatyn to play centre-half for Rhyl.

In the late 1940s the club briefly called itself Chandypore FC, after the original name of the Central Beach Club, while playing in the Dyserth Area League, but soon reverted to Prestatyn Town. Apart from a spell as Prestatyn Town Nova in 1990, the name has stuck. Success was scarce early on, with only the 1928–29 Junior Cup as a notable triumph. In the late 1960s the Bastion Road ground was built over with housing.

After considering a pitch inside the old Prestatyn Raceway (now Pontin’s Holiday Village), the club moved to its current home off Bastion Gardens for the 1970–71 season. For most of this period the team played in the Dyserth Area League or the Welsh League North. After becoming a founder member of the Clwyd Football League in 1974–75, Prestatyn enjoyed immediate success under manager Eaton Woodfine, winning the first league title and several cups.

They kept winning until finishing runners-up to St Asaph City in 1992–93, then decided to join the Welsh Alliance League. In 1993–94, under former Queen of the South professional Eddie Garrett, the club finished eighth but won the Alves Cup for the first time, beating St Asaph in the final at Connah’s Quay. Captain Martin Trigg scored the goal. The next season Prestatyn won 14 straight matches at the end of the campaign to finish four points behind champions Rhydymwyn.

They also reached the Alves Cup semi-final, while the reserve team won the Clwyd Cup. In 1995–96 they chased eventual champions Denbigh Town all season, finishing second three points behind. That year the club completed its clubhouse, giving it a fully self-contained base. A bitter split in 1998–99 led to the formation of Prestatyn Nova, and Town resigned from the Welsh Alliance to rejoin the Clwyd League.

Under Tony Thackeray and Gwyn Jones, the club won a treble of league championship, Premier Cup, and President’s Cup; the reserves lost the Coast FA Junior Cup final on penalties to Abergele Celts. The next year Prestatyn returned to the Welsh Alliance, finishing seventh and winning the Alves Cup again, while the reserves took the REM Jones Cup. In 2001–02 Graham Hunter became manager and Tony Thackeray chairman; the team were runners-up in the Alves Cup, and the reserves retained the REM Jones Cup.

Paul Thomas and James Ainsworth took over management in 2002–03. For 2003–04 Jim Hackett and Steve Jones took charge, and the club finished third, just missing promotion to the Cymru Alliance. Hackett left after a year for a job at Chester City. In 2004–05, under Lennie Dunster and Martyn Jones, the team finished sixth but reached the NWCFA Challenge Cup final for the first time, losing 3–0 to Bangor City at Llandudno.

The 2005–06 season marked a clear upturn. Under chairman Steven Jones, player-manager Dave Fuller and assistant Martyn Jones focused on the league title, winning the Welsh Alliance for the first time while remaining unbeaten all season and finishing nine points clear of runners-up Denbigh Town. A Welsh Cup run ended in a narrow 2–1 defeat to Welsh Premier side Carmarthen Town in front of 268 spectators at Bastion Road. The reserves, managed by Sean Pritchard, finished third in the Clwyd League Premier Division and won the President’s Cup, beating Llandyrnog 5–2 at Halkyn United.

Off the pitch, a new clubhouse extension, a seated stand, and hard standing around the pitch were completed to meet Cymru Alliance requirements.