Sunday will see both of Mia Roberts’ worlds collide when Llandudno take on Wrexham in the Genero Adran Trophy (KO 17:30).
Roberts is a familiar face to so many Red Dragons supporters, but when she’s not in the gantry on commentary duty for the club, she turns out for Genero Adran North side Llandudno.
This is the defender’s third season with the Seasiders, having previously played for Wrexham when she was part of the team that won promotion to the top-flight in 2023. But now she will face her former club for the first time.
“We were actually training when the draw took place, and one of our coaches on the sideline kept shouting the draw out as it went along, and then it obviously happened!” Roberts says.
“For me it’s just a lot of excitement because you want to face the best teams, and in my opinion, Wrexham are the best team in Wales right now.
“I’ve supported the club my whole life, both the men’s and women’s teams. I used to play there as well so I have a few connections there, and I always look for their results after a Llandudno game. I can assure you we want to get one over on them this Sunday, and if we do it, it would be some achievement.”
Llandudno are coming off the back of a difficult campaign last season. Having challenged for the title in previous seasons, the Seasiders finished in fourth place and a 20 points behind champions Connah’s Quay Nomads. Roberts admitted it was a tough campaign, but that there were factors that went against them.
“We went into last season wanting to win the title again and get into the play-off, but it didn’t materialise. Connah’s Quay deserve a lot of credit because they were brilliant last season, but we had a lot going on.
“We had a lot of change player wise and with management, some of our players had commitments with work and family life, so you have to take those things into account.
“We had a few girls pick up nasty injuries as well, and it was one of those where we wanted the season to wrap up towards the end because things weren’t clicking.”
However, when it comes to this season, Llandudno have had a positive start. The Seasiders have picked up four points from their opening three league games, while they’ve defeated Genero Adran North champions Connah’s Quay in both the Genero Adran Trophy and the Bute Energy Welsh Cup.
“It has been a mixed bag for us at the start of the season, but it’s been mainly positive,” Roberts says. We’ve been happy with our performances bar the opening league game against Felinheli.
“Our performances have been a lot better this season than the last one, and we haven’t got into the swing of things properly yet because we’ve played in a lot of different competitions.
“The wins we have picked up against Connah’s Quay have been real markers for us, and we want to carry on that momentum into these upcoming games.”
And the first place they will be trying to continue that momentum will be at The Globe on Sunday evening.
This won’t be the first time that Llandudno will be rubbing shoulders with top-flight foes, and after their previous experiences, Roberts believes her side are ready to contend with some of the country’s biggest sides.
“When you draw an Adran Premier team, you almost feel like you’ve been written off already before a ball has been kicked because there is a gap between that league and the second tier. We look at it as a really good chance to improve ourselves.
“We’ve played the likes of TNS and Aberystwyth Town in recent years and put in some decent performances. For me, those games showed that we weren’t a million miles away from it. We will go into Sunday with nothing to lose and show we want to compete against these top teams.”
Whatever happens this weekend, it will be a big day for Roberts and the rest of the Llandudno team. The 22-year-old has been a Wrexham fan since birth, but she made it abundantly clear where her allegiances will lie on Sunday.
“It would mean an awful lot if we managed to beat Wrexham. Both Llandudno and Wrexham have meant a lot to me over the last couple of years. In terms of my playing career at Wrexham, it didn’t end how I wanted it to, and there’s a little bit of frustration about that time.
“Sunday, to me, like any other game, is an opportunity to better myself and prove some people wrong. I’ll be saying ‘Up the Town’, but I won’t mean it for Wrexham on Sunday let’s say that!”
