William Roberts (born 1863) was a Welsh

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a forward in the 1880s and made one appearance for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Football career

Roberts was born in

Rhyl Rhyl (; , ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire in Wales. The town lies on the coast of North Wales, at the mouth of the River Clwyd. To the west is Kinmel Bay and Towyn, to the east Prestatyn, and to the south-east Rhuddlan ...

in north-east Wales and started his football career at his local club. At Rhyl, he was a "good dribbler and very tricky" who "combined well with his colleagues". He was an opportunistic player who excelled at "individual runs". As team captain, he helped Rhyl reach the final of the Northern Welsh F.A. in 1883. His solitary international appearance came at the

Kennington Oval Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

on 3 February 1883 when he was a late replacement for Thomas Britten, thus becoming the first international player from Rhyl. His international appearance was not a success as the match finished 5–0 in favour of the home country with three goals from Clement Mitchell. Roberts' performance was criticised for his lack of experience: "He may play fairly well for his own club but cannot be said to have been a success against England".

Later career

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by trade, Roberts moved to

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in 1885, where he turned out for the local Welsh expatriate side.

References

1863 births Sportspeople from Rhyl Footballers from Denbighshire Year of death missing Welsh men's footballers Men's association football forwards Wales men's international footballers Rhyl F.C. players {{Wales-footy-forward-stub