Nomads' unbeaten run ended by league leaders as Cymru Premier returns

Friday evening marked the return of the JD Cymru Premier League in a game which saw Nomads' unbeaten run come to an end at the hands of league leaders, TNS in a 3-1 defeat.

• The Nomads travelled to Park Hall to take on TNS in the 20th round of fixtures in the Cymru Premier
• First half goals from Declan McManus and Ben Clark put TNS two to the good
• John Disney gets Nomads back in the game after converting a penalty
• Declan McManus bagged himself a brace with TNS scoring their penalty as well

The Nomads came into this fixture with their stellar form continuing as they are unbeaten in their 11 matches with their last defeat coming in October against Newtown. Recent performances saw The Nomads defeat Haverfordwest in an impressive 1-0 victory but were frustrated by Cardiff Met in a 0-0 draw last month.

Friday night's opponents, TNS came into this fixture as league leaders sitting on 44 points. Their last four fixtures have seen them gain maximum points from all, including a 3-2 win over Penybont and a 2-1 win away to Barry Town.

The first action of the match saw Ryan Harrington find space in the final third thanks to a great pass from Jamie Insall but as Harrington laid the ball off to Craig Curran, his shot was straight at Paul Harrison in the TNS goal.

The 7th minute then saw John Disney win the ball back down the byline of the TNS eighteen yard box but as he passed back to Kris Owens, his cross was blocked by Blaine Hudson at the back for TNS.

TNS then took the lead through Declan McManus after Ryan Brobbel delivered a cross in from the left which McManus reached and powered his header past Ollie Byrne to put TNS 1-0 up in the 12th minute.

As we reached midway through the first half, Nomads were still providing creativity down the left and right hand sides as Paulo Mendes produced some exquisite skill to skip away from his man but as Nomads had opened up the space, they were frustrated as the referee spotted a foul on TNS' Danny Davies.

TNS then scored their second goal of the night as Danny Redmond whipped in a cross aimed towards McManus but at the back post was Ben Clark who had time and space to curl one into the top corner, putting TNS 2-0 up.

TNS continued to threaten as we neared the end of this first half and Ryan Brobbel looked to get himself on the scoresheet. However, he was denied by Ollie Byrne who made a cracking save to ensure Nomads were still in this game.

TNS did eventually have the ball in the back of the net once again as Redmond got on the end of a cross from the right but the assistant's flag went up and the goal was disallowed.

Nomads then came straight back at TNS with a beautiful counter attack of their own as Jamie Mullan found Craig Curran who slotted in Paulo Mendes but Mendes' powerful effort was fired into the side netting.

This was the final action of the first half as both teams' defence continued to cancel out any more possible threats and TNS went into the break two up and left Nomads with a hard task ahead of them.

As the second half got underway, the first action was vital for Nomads as Craig Curran felt contact as he got his shot away and went down inside the area resulting in Lee Evans, in his final game as a referee, pointing to the spot giving Nomads a lifeline. The penalty was then converted brilliantly by John Disney into the bottom left hand corner, sending the keeper the wrong way and Nomads had halved the deficit to make it 2-1.

The game got back underway and straight away, up the other end, TNS earned themselves a penalty as Danny Holmes was deemed to have pulled back Declan McManus who was in on goal and TNS had the chance to restore their two goal advantage. Declan McManus stepped up and smashed his penalty straight down the middle, leaving Byrne no chance of saving and Nomads' task was made even harder.

The 55th minute saw the introduction of new Nomads signing Connor Simpson who came on in place of Craig Curran after Curran looked to have damaged his groin. This was shortly followed by TNS' first sub of the night as Ben Clark left the field and on came Adrian Cieslewicz.

The Nomads then dominated the possession as they looked to create but TNS were inevitably forcing them wide, stopping any threat coming through the middle. The Nomads had free kicks in crossing positions and corners but all were cleared by TNS.

The second substitution for TNS saw Jordan Williams come off for Louis Robles. Robles' first action saw himself pick up a yellow card for dissent after consultation with the referee.

The final few minutes saw the introduction of Aron Williams for Nomads as Craig Harrison looked to come up with an extraordinary comeback in these dying stages.

The fourth official indicated a total of five additional minutes and Nomads' task was undoubtedly harder than ever in this match, still in search of two goals to avoid defeat. Nomads had a corner in the 93rd minute but as George Horan lept high into the air, the linesman spotted an offside and TNS ran down the clock.

This is where the match came to an end and TNS had gained revenge on Nomads after Nomads won here last season. The final score was 3-1 to TNS with goals from Ben Clark and a brace from McManus which cancelled out John Disney's excellent penalty.

The Nomads' next league game takes place on Tuesday 25th January and is a big one in the race for top six as Nomads travel to Flint Town to take part in the Flintshire derby. The last game between these two sides came in the Welsh cup where Nomads were 2-0 runaway winners thanks to goals from Jamie Insall and Jamie Mullan.

Match Photos

Match Report by Adam Angerer