Nomads lose out to Lakesiders

Connah's Quay Nomads were defeated by two goals to one at Bala Town on Wednesday evening in the JD Cymru Premier at Maes Tegid.

An own-goal and a Henry Jones strike saw Bala take the three points, despite Nomads mounting a late comeback with a Callum Morris penalty and a last-gasp chance against the crossbar from Jamie Insall.

• Own-goal gave Bala the lead
• Henry Jones got Lakesiders' second in battling second half
• Callum Morris penalty saw Nomads launch late comeback bid
• Jamie Insall denied by crossbar in last kick of the game
• Nomads stay top ahead of clash with TNS

The evening marked yet another high stakes game in the JD Cymru Premier, with Nomads coming into the game top of the league after a 4-1 win over TNS at Park Hall on Saturday.

To add to the drama, TNS had played out a score-draw over nine-man Caernarfon Town on Tuesday evening, handing Nomads the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table, whilst Bala were chasing down European qualification via third place.

Andy Morrison made only two changes to his team, starting stalwart defender Danny Harrison and attacking midfielder Aeron Edwards in place of Jamie Insall.

Bala Town manager Colin Caton meanwhile started the likes of Henry Jones, Oliver Shannon and captain Chris Venables, who was looking for his 200th JD Cymru Premier goal.

The game started in the typical fashion seen in Bala and Nomads games over recent seasons, with aerial challenges and tough tackles across the pitch.

Bala were the first to attack, getting into the Nomads' final third in the 3rd minute as the likes of Venables and Will Evans piled into the area to create chances, but were denied by a timely clearance from John Disney.

With just 15 minutes played, Nomads were dealt a blow when Aron Williams couldn't continue after a knock in the 6th minute. His replacement was Jamie Insall who joined the Connah's Quay attacking line.

Having started strong, Bala took the lead in the 18th. After a Will Evans header was well saved by Ollie Byrne with a low dive to his left, the ball took an unfortunate deflection off George Horan and went in as an own goal.

Trailing by one goal to nil, the Nomads looked to push into the Lakesiders' half to find a quick response, but were frustrated in front of the Bala goal for much of the first half.

They won set pieces taken by the likes of Declan Poole and Kris Owens in the 23rd minute, only to see a Jamie Insall header go wide of the Bala goal.

After half an hour of play, Nomads were still looking to establish themselves in the Bala half as some brutal battles in the midfield went on in the highly competitive JD Cymru Premier clash.

As the first half went into its latter stages, Nomads again won set pieces to threaten the Bala end. One of their best came in the 41st, when a Poole corner was met with a powerful header from Wilde which went just wide.

During half time, Andy Morrison made two changes, bringing on Johnny Hunt and Craig Curran in place of Danny Harrison and Neil Danns.

The Nomads made a positive start after the break, winning a corner in the 48th which was taken by Poole but cleared away by the stern Lakesiders defence.

But it wasn't long before Bala hit back, with Will Evans testing the Nomads' keeper with a header which was set to go in if not for Byrne tipping the ball above the crossbar.

As the hour mark approached, the game was locked in a tight battle with neither side giving anything away, leading to a number of moves at both ends being cancelled out by the well drilled defences of both sides.

In the 72nd minute, Nomads were given a significant hill to climb when Henry Jones finished an Oliver Shannon cross at close range to make it 2-0 to the Lakesiders after a corner ball.

Although the hosts were in a strong position with just 15 minutes to go, the JD Cymru Premier encounter saw a dramatic finish.

As the latter stages approached the tension was rising at Maes Tegid, leading to a number of bookings for four different Bala players as well as one for Declan Poole.

Then, after Jamie Insall was brought down just inside the Bala area, Nomads were awarded a penalty in their bid to make a late comeback.

Before Callum Morris took the kick, there was a further twist as Bala's Nathan Peate was shown a red card, reducing the Lakesiders for the final ten minutes of the game.

Morris stepped up to score, boosting Nomads' hopes of finding a late equaliser. They then put pressure on Bala at every opportunity inside the 80th minute as both sides looked to unlock each other with a series of set pieces.

As the 90th minute approached, Nomads were still looking for a goal as five minutes of additional time were indicated by the fourth official.

And the injury time led to a dramatic finish, when in the 95th and final minute of the game, Jamie Insall ran onto a ball from Byrne, and sent it goalwards only to see the ball rattle the crossbar in the final kick of the game.

Connah's Quay remain top of the JD Cymru Premier with two points over TNS, who they face on Saturday evening in a grandstand title match at Deeside on Saturday 1st May for a 5:15pm kick off, live on Sgorio.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall