Nomads finish decade with Flintshire derby win

Connah's Quay Nomads claimed a 4-0 Flintshire Derby win over Airbus UK Broughton at the Hollingsworth Group Stadium in the JD Cymru Premier on Monday evening.

The match was goalless at half time, but second half strikes Danny Holmes, Priestley Farquharson and a Jamie Insall brace secured the win.

• 18 year old keeper Eric Merner makes clean sheet debut
• Nomads broke deadlock via Insall near the hour mark
• Insall doubled lead with Panenka penalty
• Defenders Holmes and Farquharson strike late on

The game, which marked Nomads' final of the decade, was the second part of the traditional double header with Airbus UK Broughton over the festive period.

In the first game, Nomads went 2-0 up via Jamie Insall and John Disney in the first half, but an 80th minute penalty ensured the game ended up a battle on a heavy pitch at Deeside.

Andy Morrison made two changes, with one significant for goalkeeper Eric Merner, who made his full league debut with Lewis Brass out injured. Priestley Farquharson meanwhile started in place of Callum Morris.

Airbus also had a change of goalkeepers, replacing Dave Roberts with Lewis Hall, whilst Andy Owens remained leading the line for the Wingmakers.

The derby kicked off in typically tight fashion, with neither side conjuring a real chance until the 10th, when a 25 yard out Jay Owen effort curved and hit the post, and Michael Bakare's follow up strike from eight yards going wide.

Airbus replied to that chance with a period of sustained pressure on the Nomads goal, in which they won three successive corners which were dealt with by Andy Morrison's tightly organised defence.

Having held off the Wingmakers' attack, Nomads hit back with another chance off the woodwork when Wilde hit the bar from 12 yards in the 29th, with another secondary strike from Bakare saved by the keeper.

On 34 minutes, the strong number of Nomads' travelling support thought Wilde had broken the deadlock from close range, but referee Iwan Griffith ruled it out for a foul on the goalkeeper.

With half time approaching, the tight nature of the game showed little sign of a goal going in.

Andy Owens threatened close to half time but was found offside, and a late attempt from the Wingmakers was cancelled out by the composed Eric Merner who came off his line to catch a cross into his area in injury time.

The second half started with the encounter remaining tight, seen when Wilde just missed a header on a Declan Poole cross in the 47th before Airbus had a claim for a penalty via handball waved away two minutes later.

But as the hour mark approached, the Nomads finally found their goal via Insall. After a cross from Bakare was met by Wilde who hit the post, leading to both him and Wilde scrambling for the ball with Insall looking to have got the final touch at close range in the 57th.

Nomads' lead was however nearly short lived, as on 59 minutes they launched a counter attack and shot wide from around 10 yards.

But as the well-attended Flintshire derby went on, Nomads began to establish themselves as the team on top, dominating the midfield to produce regular runs on goal.

This was seen in the 68th, when good work down the wing from Declan Poole saw him head the ball to keep it from going out for a throw in, and cutting down the byline to send a low cross in at a tight angle.

This pressure ultimately led to Nomads' second goal after Michael Bakare was fouled after bursting into the Airbus area.

The penalty was given, and Jamie Insall stepped up to score a cool Panenka finish to send Nomads 2-0 up on 76 minutes.

Connah's Quay were now in control, and showed no signs of slowing down as the 80th minute came, making it 3-0 in the 83rd.

After Michael Bakare broke clear in front of goal, causing keeper Hall to rush out to block him. The ball spilled to defender Danny Holmes, who scored into the now open goal from around 15 yards to all but seal the three points for Nomads.

Nomads then rang the changes, with Callum Roberts replacing Declan Poole and Conor Harwood coming on in place of goalscorer Insall.

The now dominant Connah's Quay side were firing on all cylinders, and capped off the night with an excellent individual goal from Priestley Farquharson, who surged from the midfield and into the area where he finished from around 12 yards into the near bottom right corner.

The night also saw another Nomads academy graduate make his first team debut, as Max Moore was brought on in place of Michael Bakare to help see out the evening.

The Nomads now have a free weekend after the busy festive period, in which they will begin preparations for their next game against Barry Town United on Saturday 11th January for a 2:30pm kick off at Deeside.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall