Powys' Newport County striker Will Evans won’t go back to the farm after Manchester United goal

For Powys’ Will Evans, scoring against Manchester United, the club he supported as a boy, is certainly stuff of fairytales, especially when you take into consideration the unique story behind his rise into the limelight.

The Newport County striker, who has netted 18 goals in all competitions this season, fired home an equaliser for the Exiles in their clash with the Premier League giants on Sunday, as they came back from 2-0.

The Rodney Parade men gave United a fright before Erik Ten Haag’s side went on to win the game 4-2.

But the story was all about Evans, the 26-year-old striker, who as recently as three years ago was playing part time and working on his family’s farm in Llangedwyn, near Oswestry.

In the build-up to the game a lot was made of Evans’ story and his pretty rapid rise into the spotlight.

Raised in Mid Wales, after scoring a lot of goals for his local side, his brother wrote to Shrewsbury Town in a bid to secure him a trial.

“I was playing with my local team and I scored about 20 odd goals,” he said. “’My brother was a massive Shrewsbury fan and he sent a letter to the club begging them to take me on a trial! So they took me on for six weeks.

“The longer a trial goes on, the less chance you have. It was a tough first four or five weeks then we played Cambridge and I scored, so after that game I was brought into a tiny office and they offered me to sign for the centre of excellence. I went there three times a week – my brother, my dad, my mum, my neighbours would take me. They were all so busy on the farm so it was hard to get lifts. I got released at 15 and I thought that was time up. I didn’t know where to go from there.”

That wasn’t to be the end of Evans’ story. After re-signing for his local side, he went off to Cardiff Metropolitan University, breaking into their first team and helping the Archers win promotion to the Cymru Premier.

The club qualified for Europe before Evans moved on to Bala Town, enjoying more European clashes and earning a call up to represent Wales C against England.

At the time, during the Covid-19 pandemic, he was playing part-time for Bala while working back on the family farm, but professional clubs were to come calling. In May 2022, he penned a professional deal with the club and has now become one of the top strikers in League Two, with rumours linking him with a move to Swansea City.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game, he insisted he doesn’t know what the future holds but it won’t involve going back to the farm!

“I would have bitten your hand off to be in this position 18 months ago,” Evans said. “I’m a massive United fan and used to go there a lot when I was a kid.

“I’ve got some really fond memories of going to Old Trafford and I’m a good friend of Eric Ramsay (United assistant manager).

“I’m just enjoying my football right now and don’t know what will happen in the future. But I’m not going back to the farm. It’s not happening.”