Tigers Strengthen Ahead of Big Kick-Off

Blue Square Bet North new boys Hyde FC have signed defenders Robbie Williams and Kelvin Lomax and midfielder Matthew Cassidy.

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Published 10th August 2012

Robbie Williams

Williams, 25, is a 6`5” centre back and joins the Tigers after being with AFC Telford United last season

Williams signed for the Bucks from relegated Altrincham in June 2011.

He had joined Altrincham in July 2009 after a successful pre-season. He started out at the Lytham Football Academy and played for Blackpool Wren Rovers as well as Lancashire Colleges' under-18 team. He was also an England Colleges' under-18s triallist before he joined Welsh Premier side The New Saint's scholarship programme in 2005. In 2006, he became a regular member of the first-team squad and was in the TNS squad for the UEFA Champions League in both 2006/07 and 2007/08 and gained a Welsh FA Cup winners` medal and a Welsh Premier championship medal for the 2006/07 season.

He signed full-time for the Saints in May 2007 and made a total of forty-four appearances and scored twice.

He won the first of three Wales under-23 semi-pro caps in March 2010 when he scored against Portugal and he has also played against England and Poland.

Lomax, 24, started his career at Oldham Athletic where he made eighty-two appearances.

He had loan spells at Rochdale in 2007, where he made ten appearances, and Chesterfield, who he signed for on an emergency loan in November 2010, for appearing five times before an injury meant his return to Oldham.

In July 2010 he was transfer-listed by Oldham, along with five other first-team players and has his contract terminated on 31st January 2011.

A day later he signed for Shrewsbury Town on six-month contract, making just one cameo appearance before being released in the summer of 2011 whereupon he signed for Barrow AFC.

Cassidy, 23, joins Hyde after returning to England having played in Cyprus for the past four years.

He was originally with Bolton Wanderers, where he played for the youth and reserve sides and was named Academy player of the year in 2007.

In the summer of 2007 he made his full first-team debut for Wanderers in their pre-season defeat against Hibernian but moved on from Wanderers in the summer of 2008 to the Cypriot first division side in search of regular football.

Although offered contracts at a number of English clubs including Doncaster Rovers and Luton Town, Cassidy turned down these offers to accept a contract at Enosis Neon Paralimni after being impressed with the set up there - he became Ireland's first ever footballing export to Cyprus.

After two years with Enosi Neon Paralimniou, Cassidy managed to win a transfer to one of the biggest clubs of the island, AEL Limassol.

He signed his new five-year contract with Limassol in June 2010. However, his move didn't work out and he left just one year later for Othellos.

He has also represented the Republic of Ireland at under-17, 18 and under-19 level.

Meanwhile, two more of last season’s title-winning squad have re-signed for the Tigers, as Tunji Moses and Ashley Frith decide to stay at Ewen Fields.

[Source: SW]