News Archive : 2001/2002
February

'Professionals' defeated!
Report: TNS,Llansantffraid 1 RHYL 2 (LoW)
Rhyl lept to third place in the league with this superb victory against the leaders at Treflan. With John Stannard unavailable, Gareth Wilson was drafted in for his first start of the year. TNS had the misfortune of seeing their goalkeeper Doherty sent-off after 15 mins for handling the ball outside the area. Despite this handicap, they broke the deadlock when Nick Ward fired home on the hour. This spurred Rhyl, and within six minutes they were level, Colin Webster forcing home from close range against his former club. The stage was then set for a thrilling finale, and it was hot-shot Andy Moran who sealed a memorable win with a drive twelve minutes from time.

Rhyl: B Stewart, Webster, Coathup, Jackson, Brewerton, Hinnigan (A Jones 76"), Wilson (Welton "77), Brookman, Moran, Green, Cross.

Attendance: 214. With special thanks to the many from Rhyl who made up the crowd in difficult conditions.

Game at Llansantffraid in doubt!
The pitch has passed an afternoon inspection, but with heavy rain in Mid-Wales, please make sure the game is on before travelling. The Llansantffraid FC Social Club number is 01691-828112.

Rhyl FC's  new signings
Manager Lee Williams has bolstered his squad with the signing of two new players.  They are Lee Spike, 20, a 6ft 4in striker from Waterloo Docks, and Phil McDiamuid, 21, a midfielder from Marine. Both will figure in the squad for Saturday's important match at home to Newtown.

Moran's the Man - Rhyl go second in the table!
Report: Rhyl 1 Newtown 0 (LoW)
Man of the Moment Andy Moran added another goal to his impressive tally to give Rhyl the three points against a workmanlike Newtown side. His header on five minutes, coming from a Matthew Cross centre, was enough to give Rhyl victory and move the club up to second place in the table. It looked as if Rhyl would increase the lead when a John Stannard header was deflected wide, and Andy Green somehow hit the post from three yards shortly before the interval. New signing Lee Spike made an impressive debut in the second half, almost scoring with his first touch, but although Rhyl had plenty of possession, they just couldn't turn it into goals.  A good win nonetheless, and one which nicely  sets up the away fixture at Champions Barry Town next Saturday.

RHYL: Stewart, Webster, Coathup, Futcher, Brewerton, Wilson, Stannard (Welton 31"), Brookman, Moran, Green (Spike 74"), Cross.

Attendance: 226

Rhyl application to re-join English Pyramid
In light of the recent report that Rhyl Football Club has applied to join the North West Counties League, Rhyl FC's MD Peter Parry has released the following statement; 

"We have made an application to join the North West Counties League but we are keeping our options open. We have no immediate plans to resign from the League of Wales but given all that's happening at Rhyl and looking at the infrastructure in place at Belle Vue it seems sensible to revisit the issue of whether we should be playing in the Welsh or English systems. We are aware of the advantages of playing in the League of Wales with European qualification and the FAW Premier Cup but we feel duty bound to consider all options at this juncture given the current ambitions of the club."

Further details will be released on this site when available.

Coast Cup Success!
Rhyl 2 Denbigh Town 0
Two goals either side of half-time, from Andy Moran and Andy Green - his first for the club, sent Rhyl through to the next round of the Coast Cup at Belle Vue.

Will Rhyl succeed where Porto failed?
Preview: Barry Town v Rhyl

GarGary Lloyd puts Barry Town 3-1 up against Portugese Champs Porto last summer

Rhyl travel to Jenner Park with a rare opportunity of achieving a "double" against the full-timers of Barry Town. Rhyl won 3-1 at Belle Vue last year in probably the best performance of the season, and will be looking for more of the same this time around. The competition at the top of the league is fiercer this season than at any other time, and this game is certainly a "six-pointer". Rhyl have no injuries to report, and could give a start to Lee Spike, the new signing from Waterloo Docks who did so well on his debut.

Report: Barry Town 1 Rhyl 0 (LoW)

Rhyl fans make themselves heard at Jenner Park.

Rhyl fell to an unfortunate defeat after more than holding their own against full timers Barry at Jenner Park. Rhyl's best period of pressure came early in the game, with John Stannard and Moran causing problems for the well-marshalled home defence on the right wing. Barry had the most clear-cut efforts at goal before eventually taking the lead on 40 minutes when Dave Toomey fired home from close-range after a Scott Morgan headed down a corner.

The game was played mostly in midfield after the interval, but Rhyl did become more creative. Lee Spike headed against the crossbar from a Coathup free-kick and Andy Moran saw his goalbound effort cleared as he made the most of a Simon Rayner fumble towards the end.

Despite the defeat, Rhyl still retain second spot after Port Talbot's shock 1-0 victory over TNS,Llansantffraid.

RHYL: Williams, Stewart, Webster, Coathup (Welton 65'), Futcher, Brewerton, Wilson, Stannard (A.Jones 71'), Brookman, Moran, Spike, Cross.
Sub not used:McDiarmuid

Attendance: 328

Rhyl Supporters Association
The next meeting will be at Caskey's on Monday, 25th February, 2002 at 7:30pm. With the League of Wales Board meeting in the afternoon to discuss Rhyl's interest in the English Pyramid, it promises to be an interesting evening! Find out the latest news first hand! More details can be obtained from Supporters Association Chairman Bryn Williams, email to  .

Rhyl back in second place!
Report: Rhyl 2 Llanelli 0 (LoW)
Rhyl had to battle hard against a Llanelli team desperate for points in today's blustery encounter at Belle Vue. The side wind made it difficult for both sides, but it was Rhyl who started the brighter with Nicky Brookman putting in a 'man of the match' performance in the centre of midfield. Llanelli only troubled goalkeeper Billy Stewart once all game, but it took fully 39 minutes before Rhyl made their superiority count. Nicky Brookman accepted a short ball from Gareth Wilson and teed himself up before unleashing a 25yard drive to the right of Ben Miles' outstretched arms.

Rhyl maintained the pressure after the interval, with Andy Moran having the best of the chances when he rounded the goalkeeper only to see his effort cleared off the line. Gareth Wharton's late lunge on Andy Moran cost him a red card on 60 minutes, and it was Moran who sealed the victory with the second goal at the far post on 75 mins.

Neil Rigby replaced the absent Lee Coathup in the defence and impressed with some solid play.

Rhyl: Stewart, Webster, Rigby, Futcher, Brewerton, Wilson, Stannard (Welton 63'), Brookman (A.Jones 79'), Moran (Green 89'), Spike, Cross.

Attendance: 137

Chairman resigns from the LoW board

Rhyl chairman Dave Simmons resigned from the LoW board of directors at the meeting held in Caersws earlier today. He said "Given the situation which may be viewed as a conflict of interests, I felt it proper to tender my resignation as a director of the LoW. I will however continue my support of the league and its future plans".

Rhyl v Llanelli match action

Gareth Wilson charges through

Steve Futcher beats Dickeson to this header

LoW Meeting - Management Board statement
The League of Wales Board of Directors met in Caersws yesterday and considered correspondence from Rhyl Football Club. Rhyl have been members of the League of Wales for a number of years and whilst not winning any honours, the Club have gradually improved their playing standards and the facilities at Belle Vue, with the assistance of a significant ground improvement grant and the support of the Board. In addition to this, the Club has received UEFA grant aid for their Youth Development Academy. This financial support was wholly conditional on their membership of the Football League of Wales. Representations have been made by the League of Wales with the support of all member Clubs, to the Management Committee of the Football Association of Wales, and should these recommendations be accepted they will enhance and further professionalise our National League, which will doubtless be beneficial to all member Clubs. The Board are confident that the League will grow in stature and hope that Rhyl will continue to play their full part at the highest tier of domestic Welsh football. The Board stated emphatically that any application from a member Club to join the English Pyramid system would not be supported.

LoW Meeting - Rhyl FC   statement
"We have made no secret of our desire to play in the english pyramid system. While we have no intention of resigning from the League of Wales immediately, we are committed to follow through our ten year plan which is to play at the highest level open to us.

The substantial investment made in the infrastructure at Belle Vue - 80% of  which has ben funded by the club itself - is a clear indication of the vision and ambition for the future of Rhyl Football Club."

Opinion Poll Closes
Many thanks to all who voted in our Opinion Poll which closed today. The number of votes polled over the last fortnight was 583. The result to the question "Should Rhyl FC re-join the English Pyramid?" was as follows;

Welsh Youth Cup
Rhyl Colts fell to a one-goal defeat in last night's tie at the Oval, Caernarfon. Caernarfon will now face Newport or Cardiff City in the quarter finals.

North Wales Challenge Cup
Rhyl have been drawn to play away at Colwyn Bay in the next round, with the winners set to play Bangor City in the semi-finals.

Away Transport
The coach for Aberystwyth leaves Belle Vue at 10.15am on Saturday. Places can be booked by ringing Dave Armstrong on 01745 337434