The curious case of Borough United

   by Jordan Thomas

Not many people in the world have heard of Borough United, to be honest not many people from Wales have heard of Borough United. The club was formed in 1952 and by 1969 the club had disappeared but in those 17 years the club made a name for itself on a domestic level and European level. The club was a merger two neighbouring teams who were struggling financially. Llandudno Junction and Conwy Borough formed to create Borough United and the club played at Junction’s Nant y Coed ground, their first few season saw little success as the club established themselves in the Welsh League North. In 1958-59 the club won their first league title which was exactly 10 years after Junction’s previous title. During their run to the title they scored 146 goals and beat local neighbours Llandudno FC to the title which added to the sweet taste of success. The next few seasons saw near misses but in the 1962-63 season things came very good for the club. As a horrific winter saw the league extended into the summer months, an avalanche of goals came through brothers Keith and Mike Pritchard and former Oldham striker Gerry Duffy. The club won the league title ahead of Holyhead Town and Colwyn Bay and picked up three trophies along the way.

The club won the Cookson Cup and the North Wales Coast Challenge Cup but it was the Welsh Cup that saw the club make waves on an international stage. It all started with a win over coastal rivals Rhyl, next they beat cup holders Bangor City and in the semi-final they beat Hereford United by a goal to nil thanks to Mike Pritchard. The two-legged final saw Borough United come up against Football league opposition in Newport County, in front of 3,500 fans, Borough came back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Billy Russell and Joe Bebb. Three days later at Somerton Park, a string of saves from Dave Walker saw a goalless draw and Borough were Welsh Cup champions. The four trophies they won were paraded through Conwy and Llandudno Junction but most of the summer was spent fund-raising for an European adventure in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup. The first round draw was a kind one as the club were paired with Sliema Wanderers of Malta, the draw might’ve been kind but the journey was less straightforward. The journey to the Med took 31 hours because of engine troubles on the plane and they took to the pitch a mere four hours after touching down in Malta. The match took place at the National Stadium in front of 15,000 spectators and Borough did well to hold the Maltese side to a 0-0 on an unfamiliar sandy surface. The second leg in Wales was played at Wrexham in front of 17,613 fans. As Borough struggled on the sand in the first leg, Sliema found the grass a a problem and a goal in each half saw Borough go through

In December 1963, Borough were drawn against Czech cup winners Slovan Bratislava who had reached the previous season’s quarter finals and fielded five internationals. Bizarrely, the crowd went down in numbers compared to the game against Sliema in the first round but the 10,000 that did turn up saw a fiercely contested game, Slovan Bratislava scored early in the second half to take a 1-0 lead into the second leg. Four days later Borough traveled to icy and snowy conditions which heavily favored the home side and a 3-0 victory for Bratislava saw Borough depart the competition 4-0 on aggregate. The first four months of the 63-64 season were dominated by European competition, but United enjoyed a good season finishing third behind Holyhead and Colwyn Bay but top scoring with 134 goals from 32 matches. They relinquished the Welsh Cup in a 5-1 fifth round defeat to Chester but retained the North Wales Challenge after a 2-0 victory over Holywell. The 1964/65 season saw Borough United finish runners up in the league behind Colwyn Bay and losing again to Chester in the Welsh Cup in a twice replayed quarter final, the club also lost 4-0 to Ellesmere Port in the FA Cup as well.
1965/66 saw the club finish trophy less and the same followed in 1966/67. 1967 was a momentous year for Borough but in the wrong way as the Nant y Coed owners evicted the club from the ground leaving them without a ground of Welsh League standard. Relocating to Conwy was ruled unfeasible, and the FAW refused an application by the club to join the Chesire League. In July 1967 the club resigned from the Welsh League North and soldiered on for two season in the Vale of Conwy League. Borough United folded in 1969. The club’s sudden demise is made more poignant that Nant y Coed remained intact but decaying for over a quarter of the century. Though the club only existed for 17 years their short history won’t be forgotten by the people of Conwy and Llandudno Junction.