BALA TOWN skipper Chris Venables has risen to the top of the goalscoring charts once again early on in the 2020/21 JD Cymru Premier season.
The midfielder-turned-attacker is the first player to reach double figures this season, with his latest header against Flint Town United, taking him to 10 goals in just eight top-flight matches.
That places Bala's main man three goals ahead of The New Saints pairing of Greg Draper and Louis Robles and puts him in pole position to secure his fifth Golden Boot award.
Venables was the Cymru Premier top scorer in 2019/20 too after hitting 22 goals in just 26 matches before the decision was made by the Football Association of Wales to curtail the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 35-year-old, who was born in Shrewsbury, previously scooped the Golden Boot prize on three occasions prior to last season, all of which came whilst playing for Aberystwyth Town between 2013/14 and 2015/16, by netting 24, 28 and 20 goals to top the Welsh top flight goalscoring list.
PIC: Colin Ewart.
By now, Venables has made more than 400 appearances in the JD Cymru Premier and is nearing 200 goals. He has also been named WPL (now JD Cymru Premier) Player of the Season in 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2019/20.
Now in his 17th season in Wales’ top-flight, Venables started out at hometown club Shrewsbury Town before going on to have stints at Welshpool, Caersws, Aberystwyth Town and Llanelli.
He made the move to Maes Tegid with Bala in 2016 and instantly made an impact under the guidance of manager Colin Caton who has given him a more attacking role in the team, as well as the captain's armband.
By now, Venables must surely be considered a true JD Cymru Premier legend and, despite the fact that he is now in his mid-thirties, is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.
So far this season, he's picked up goals against Penybont (2), Haverfordwest County (1), Aberystwyth Town (2), Barry Town United (3), Newtown (1) and Flint Town United (1) - three of which have been well-taken penalties..
He also scored the decisive goal in the club's historic 1-0 UEFA Europa League win against Valletta in Malta.
He has that real knack of knowing just where to be to put himself in the right positions to pick up the goals for Bala.
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