Nomads claim bragging rights in Deeside derby

Connah's Quay Nomads defeated Flint Town United by two goals to nil on Tuesday evening in a behind closed doors JD Cymru Premier game at Deeside.

In the first top flight derby between the two since 1998, goals from Danny Davies and Sameron Dool in each half respectively were enough to hand Nomads victory.

• Danny Davies free kick gave Nomads half time lead
• A spirited Flint performance kept the encounter close
• Sameron Dool came on and immediately made it 2-0
• Nomads go five unbeaten and make it four consecutive wins

The game saw Connah's Quay and Flint Town meet in a top flight game for the first time since April 1998 following the Silkmen's promotion at the conclusion of the 2019/20 season. In the past two decades they had seldom crossed paths except in cup and friendly occasions, with their most recent meetings being in the 2019/20 Nathaniel MG Cup quarter finals and a friendly played out in September.

The hosting Nomads came into the fixture in strong form on a run of three back to back wins, which saw them go 2nd in the JD Cymru Premier table. Flint had meanwhile won only three games so far in the campaign, but were looking for a big derby win after a strong performance to Cardiff Met.

Andy Morrison made no changes to his previous side against Barry Town, with Michael Wilde again included as he looked for his 70th Nomads career goal. A host of familiar faces were started by Flint's Niall McGuinness, with ex-Nomads including goalkeeper John Danby, Wes Baynes, Kai Edwards, Ben Nash and Conor Harwood.

The game started and gave nothing away in the early stages with Nomads and Flint quickly locking into a battle for possession.

However, the deadlock was broken in the 10th minute thanks to a brilliant free kick from Danny Davies on the edge of the Flint area. His delivery beat keeper Danby with a powerful strike towards the top right corner which went in off the woodwork.

Danny Davies!

Cei Connah ar y blaen diolch i gic-rydd Danny Davies.

10' @the_nomads 1-0 Y Fflint #JDCymruPremier pic.twitter.com/1IkoeeAVkU

— Sgorio (@sgorio) December 1, 2020

Boosted by their lead, Nomads continually got into the Flint half but found their chances scuppered by the offside flag on two occasions. In the 25th, the Silkmen nearly equalised after a shot from Ben Maher deflected off the left Nomads post, which saw Flint win a corner after a sustained period of possession in the Connah's Quay final third.

The corner kick was cleared, but Flint kept the pressure on to force an even finish to the first half. On 39 minutes, Mark Callawader went close for Flint with a header which looked to be going just under the crossbar caught by Byrne.

However, Nomads did enough to stave off a threatening Flint to take their 1-0 lead in with them at the interval. During this, Andy Morrison made his first change, introducing Aron Williams in place of Jay Owen.

The second half started and was a close contest, with Davies finding Horan who headed the ball beyond John Danby, only to be flagged offside.

Substitute Aron Williams was meanwhile making good runs down the right wing whilst keeping the visitors out of the Connah's Quay half as they struggled to break Nomads' defensive line.

After the hour mark, Flint went within seven yards of the Nomads goal through Mark Cadwallader, who then went down leading to claims for a penalty, but it was Nomads who were awarded a free kick by referee Aaron Wyn Jones with the Flint forward judged offside.

With 20 minutes to play, Nomads' second substitution saw Sameron Dool replace Danny Harrison and score just a minute later. With one of his first touches of the ball, Dool drilled a low shot in from the edge of the box to make it 2-0 and put his side in the driving seat for the latter stages of the Deeside derby.

Sameron Dool@the_nomads 2-0 Y Fflint #JDCymruPremier pic.twitter.com/8EbK2ol9GU

— Sgorio (@sgorio) December 1, 2020

Nomads built on Dool's goal and controlled possession while restrict Flint from any chances on goal, with their final change replacing Michael Wilde with Craig Curran.

Not resting up despite their lead, Connah's Quay continued to create chances as they dominated the final few minutes of the encounter under the lights at Deeside.

After two minutes of stoppage time, full time saw Nomads record their fourth consecutive win in their second game in just four days.

They now move onto an away fixture at Aberystwyth Town on Friday evening for a 7:45pm kick off before returning to Deeside on Saturday 12th December to face The New Saints in a live Sgorio game.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall