Adam Davies celebrates netting against Conwy Borough (Photo credit permission from John Pickles)
From Ellesmere Rangers to Aberystwyth Town to Airbus UK Broughton. At just 25-years of age Adam Davies has already experienced a few clubs with the highs and lows of football being included.
Davies is currently having the best season of his life in the JD Cymru North, having netted 29 goals already, the league record was broken when the forward surpassed 24.
Although enjoying the best football of his career right now, the Shrewsbury born forward was on the verge of quitting the game.
Davies was playing at the highest level in Welsh domestic football when he signed for Aberystwyth Town in January 2020.
The move was the biggest in his life, switching from Guilsfield to the west Wales coast’s finest side.
“It was a good experience, even though it didn’t pan out how I envisaged I probably wouldn’t change anything.
“I want to play as high as I can, that is the same with everyone in football.
“It’s a short career so you got to take opportunities while they are there.
“To move from Guilsfield to Aberystwyth was a big step up at the time. I didn’t want to look back and regret not going so I went.
“It started off well, We (Aberystwyth) played Airbus in my first league game which I started in a 5-3 win, and I got voted man of the match and I started the next two games, then covid struck and the league got wiped”, added Davies.
In the middle of March in 2020, coronavirus spread across the World and put everything on pause as the JD Cymru Premier table got decided on points per game.
Teams then started to come back to train in the summer as leagues looked to restart.
It was a completely different time for Davies with whole new look to the Mid-Wales side.
“Coming in June to July time, it was a completely different squad.
“We had a total of 30-35 players and all first team players who thought they should be starting.
“I was doing well pre-season and then unfortunately I broke my wrist around August right at the start of the season and I missed 4-6 weeks which is a lot of games.
“Then I just couldn’t get back in the squad.
“I was training well, and I felt the fittest I ever had, but didn’t get in the side.
“I remember I started against The New Saints away, we gone up a goal but lost 4-1.
“There is no shame in losing in that magnitude to TNS.
“After that I thought, I was going to get a nice little run of games , but I was left out the squad entirely after thinking I did really well.”
Davies wasn’t enjoying his football at that point.
The forward was contemplating leaving the game completely after falling out of love from not being picked in the starting line-ups.
He said; “I left the club and gave football a break for four weeks.
“I wasn’t that eager to get involved and close to knocking it all on the head.
“Then a few things went out on social media and clubs started to contact and that’s went it all started with Airbus.”
When Davies left Aberystwyth, he had a few clubs approach him in the hope of signing the talented striker.
However, it was Steve O’Shaughnessy’s team that grabbed his attention based on what the club had to offer.
It looks like the move has worked for both the club and player with Davies starting regularly and the club top of the league.
“Ever since I joined it’s been really good; I have loved it.
“So coming down and seeing the facilities and the stature of the club was a massive pulling point.
“Since I’ve started, I have hit the ground running really well, it’s been really positive.”
Since joining the Wingmakers, Davies has gone on to break the JD Cymru North goal scoring record and is now up to 29 for the season.
There is a sense of relief from Davies that the record is out of the way and can now look ahead to hopefully grabbing the league title at the end of the season.
“There was a patch just before Christmas where I went four, five games without a goal.
“I went through a sequence at the start of the season where I scored 12 goals in three so to keep that up is pretty challenging throughout the whole season.
“On reflection you always get little patches where you go without a goal.
“It was a relief to score a couple against Conwy and get that record out the way.”
Even when Davies has netted so many this season, the adrenaline rush is still there.
It is all working towards what Davies and the team want to achieve at the end of the season, which is getting promotion back to the JD Cymru Premier and securing the title.
“A goal is amazing, whether it is 20 yards out ,bearing in mind I have only scored one outside the box this season or from two yards out!
“It is always great scoring because the goals are so valuable to our end goal.
“It’s the same buzz throughout, even when you have scored so many it is great, even better when you are going through a drought!”
To get back to the Cymru Premier is what the club are after having been relegated from the top division on a points per game basis two seasons ago.
Bus are currently leading the race for promotion with a match in hand over north Wales challengers Llandudno Town, who were also recently in Wales’ topflight.
Davies believes that if the club can go up, they can stay there and be regulars in the league.
“With Airbus they have got the foundations to prosper at that level and they have done previously.
“When you have got that turnover season upon season that is massive.
“That is a big part of why we are at the top of the Cymru North. At a lot of teams at this level don’t have it.
“It is very much a top end Cymru Premier set up and that’s why when we have got players either suspended or injured, we have always got players from the academy that can step up.
“The club’s got all the foundations.
“Right now it’s about getting out of this league because it is tough. We have got difficult places to go, but the Cymru Premier is where the club should be and where it belongs.”
The long-term aim for Airbus is Europe.
Bus have previously competed in the Europa League qualifying three previous times.
Davies would love the idea of playing European football and focuses back to the short-term goal of winning the Cymru North to help the club get back there in the future.
“Football’s a short career, so to take something away like that would be excellent.
“The foundations are in place, it is about us now to dig in and take it game by game and get the results this season to make sure.
“It is a credit to how good that run was at the start of the season.
“That has a given us a bit of breathing space, but it is up to us to finish the job off.”
Adam Davies in action against Buckley Town (photo by John Pickles)
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