Only 20 years old, Lili Jones is already a bone fide legend of Wrexham AFC! Quite apart from her starring role in “Welcome to Wrexham”, she has established herself as the outstanding young talent of the Adran Premier and is the beating heart of the Wrexham side.

Teams scored against:

3: Swansea City

2: Bethel, Rhyl, TNS

1: Aberystwyth Town, Briton Ferry, Cwmbran Celtic, Llandudno, Pontypridd United, Pwllheli

She had a spell at Everton, but signed for the club she has been devoted to all her life and made her debut on her 16th birthday. She scored two goals, but her more experienced team mates weren’t quite so effective as we lost 8-3 to Bethel!

The following season saw her establish herself as a key part of the team which swept its way to the Adran North title. After missing the opening game through injury she swiftly started making a difference in matches, scoring a penalty in the second minute of injury time to secure a 2-1 Adran Trophy win at Rhyl. Often playing at centre back, and juggling her first team commitments with a starring role in the U19 side which also won their Adran North league, she was outstanding as we won every league game of the season.

Her form in the run-in was particularly impressive as she made five assists in the last five league matches of the campaign as well as scoring in the incredible 11-1 win at Rhyl which sealed the title. That teed up a play-off against Briton Ferry for a place in the top tier and Jones played a major part in a tight 1-0 win, especially in the second half as she sought to wrest control of the game away from Ferry.

Her first season in the top tier saw her naturally adapt swiftly to the task of playing at a higher level. She scored in the second game of the season as we beat Pontypridd United to register our first away success in the Adran Premier, and would be an ever-present in the league as we qualified for the Championship Phase and finished an admirable third in the table. Surely, the highlight of her campaign was an astonishing goal at her beloved SToK Cae Ras against Swansea City.

She was confirmed at the end of the season not only as Wrexham’s Young Player of the Season, but also the league’s best young star. The campaign was rounded off by an appearance in the Welsh Cup Final, where a brave performance ended in defeat to Cardiff.

Despite the team struggling at the start of the 2024-25 season, Jones’ personal standards remained high as she racked up the assists once more. A run of four assists in as many league games, plus a fine goal against Briton Ferry, helped us to improve after losing our opening matches of the campaign.

Qualification for the Championship Phase appeared impossible, though, as we tried to make up for our poor start to the season, and we went into a home derby against TNS knowing our slim hopes would be extinguished if we didn’t win. The game was goalless with three minutes left but Jones stepped up when she was needed most, curling a magnificent goal home to win the game. Our next match, at Swansea, would see us overtake our hosts to claim the final slot in the top half of the table if we won. A heavy challenge put Jones out of the game after 54 minutes, but she’d already provided an assist and would play a full part in the celebrations as Wrexham pulled off a miraculous win.

In the Championship Phase she maintained her record of starting every game Wrexham have played in the second stage of the Adran Premier.

Under a new management team in 2025-26, Jones started the season superbly, enjoying the variety of midfield roles she was asked to fulfil as Jenny Sugarman’s side played with tactical flexibility. She scored the decisive goal in a fine 3-1 win at Swansea in the first phase and also scored past The Swans in the return match, a 4-2 win.

A commanding presence in midfield, Jones is capable of playing as a ball-playing central defender as she is more than physically equipped to deal with the demands of defending. However, she hasn’t been utilised in that position since October 2024 (when, ironically, she made two assists against Cardiff Met) as it would be wasteful not to take advantage of her ability to take the game by the scruff of the neck in the heart of the action. She can play naturally in a double pivot or as a holding midfielder as she is strong in the tackle and able to start moves with his accurate use of the ball.

Her skillset brings Steven Gerrard to mind: her long passing allows Wrexham to open games up, while her driving runs from midfield and ability to go beyond her strikers allows her to take games by the scruff of the neck.