Holywell Town F.C.

Early history

The history of football in Holywell can be traced back to a club simply known as Holywell Football Club, founded on 25 September 1880 at the King's Head Hotel. The club's first game came on 23 October 1880, a goalless draw at home against Denbigh, before playing their first away game versus Rhyl the following Saturday. The first Holywell goal in a 2–2 draw was scored by an unidentified player; the second goal was scored by right-winger E. Bratt to level the scores.

The first local derby against Flint occurred on 27 November 1880, with Holywell winning by a single goal from J.C. Douglas. The early side played at Ffordd Fer ('Short Way'), a ground near the town centre that no longer exists, and wore red and white colours, the same as the current home kit. Holywell F.C. made its Welsh Cup debut in the 1881–82 competition, losing 0–3 at home to Northwich Victoria's 'A' team. Another Holywell-based side, Holywell Dee Rovers (also known as Dee Rovers or Holywell Rovers), entered the Welsh Cup in 1882 and 1883, losing 1–6 to Dolgelley Idris and 0–16 to Davenham respectively.

Holywell F.C. returned to the Welsh Cup in the 1888–89 edition, losing 2–4 at home to Mold, and again in 1890–91, losing 2–3 away to the same local rivals. Holywell F.C. reached the third round of the 1892-93 Welsh Cup without playing a game after Porthmadoc withdrew and a bye in the second round, but failed to appear for their scheduled cup match in early January 1893 and were thrown out of the competition by the FAW. In March 1893, Holywell F.C. became one of the seven founder members of the North Wales Coast League, finishing fourth in the inaugural season.

The club reached its first cup final in 1898, losing the North Wales Senior Cup 3–0 to Bangor City. After the Baron Corvo episode of 1899, the team resigned from the North Wales Coast League at the end of the 1900–01 season and joined the Chester & District League Division One for a season, finishing seventh. Holywell returned to competitive football in the 1904–05 season in the Flintshire League, finishing bottom with no wins and a two-point deduction for playing an ineligible player.

The club changed its name to Holywell United and then Holywell Victoria, competing in the Flintshire League and later the Chester & District League, finishing as high as third in the 1908–09 season. Under the Holywell United name, they rejoined the North Wales Coast League for the 1912–13 season and achieved a league and Amateur Cup double in the 1913–14 season, winning 15 of 17 league games and beating Colwyn Bay 1–0 in the Amateur Cup final at Rhyl.

They also reached the Welsh Amateur Cup final that season, losing 0–1 to Cardiff Corinthians at Newtown. After World War I, Holywell United finished as runners-up in the North Wales Coast League in the 1920–21 season, three points behind Holyhead Railway Institute, scoring 92 goals. They lost the North Wales Coast Amateur Cup final to Holyhead 3–1 that season, but defeated Holyhead 1–0 in the following season's final at Llandudno, with Hewitt scoring the only goal.

From the 1921–22 season until the 1928–29 season, Holywell United competed in the newly formed Welsh National League (North), with limited success, but did reach the semi-finals of the 1926-27 Welsh Cup, the furthest a Holywell-based club had gotten up to that date (later matched by Holywell Town's 2013-14 run). Their cup run included a 4–2 win at Conway in round three and a home win against Denbigh Town in round four before losing decisively to Rhyl at Colwyn Bay.

History of Holywell Town

The 2014–15 season proved to be one of The Wellmen's best seasons in its history, winning the old Welsh Alliance League Division 1 title with three games to go at Llanrwst United, ending the league campaign with a goal difference of +100 and winning all but three of their league games. They also won their second FAW Trophy, beating fellow Welsh Alliance team Penrhyndeudraeth 4–2 at Llandudno's Maesdu Stadium, and achieved a Mawddach Challenge Cup victory, beating Llanrug United 3–2 at the Nantporth Stadium in Bangor to complete an unprecedented treble. In the 2022–23 season, Holywell Town achieved their highest league placement in 24 years when they finished as runners-up in the 2022-23 Cymru North table after a 25-game winning streak throughout the league campaign.