Nomads see off Seasiders in Nathaniel MG Cup

Connah's Quay Nomads booked their place in the third round of the Nathaniel MG Cup after a 2-0 win over Llandudno on Friday evening at Deeside.

Goals from Jordan Davies and Tom Moore in the first and second halves respectively topped off a dominant display from the Welsh Champions.

• Davies opens club account after slick Morris assist in the 6th minute
• Tom Moore placed in attacking role to score in 70th
• Five Nomads academy graduates featured in the cup tie
• Nomads progress to third round ahead of Cymru Premier season curtain raiser

The game marked the start of the domestic season for Nomads, although they had in fact been in-season since early July, having narrowly lost out to Alashkert and Prishtina in the Champions' League and Europa Conference League respectively.

It was in fact just eight days since their last European game, where they had recorded a major club result by defeating Prishtina by four goals to two, only to exit the competition 6-5 on aggregate.

They came into the game with a good pedigree in the Nathaniel MG Cup, as the de-facto holders of the trophy having been the most recent team to win the competition in early 2020.

In the week's build-up to the match, Nomads had completed the signing of Ryan Harrington as well as bid farewell to club stalwarts Michael Wilde and Danny Harrison.

Harrington was placed straight into the starting eleven, with Jamie Mullan, Aron Williams and Declan Poole all forming part of an attacking Connah's Quay lineup who would go on to dominate the proceedings.

It took just over five minutes for the fans, who were returning to Deeside for the first time in 524 days, to see the opening goal which was Jordan Davies' first for the club.

Callum Morris made a run into the Llandudno half and sent a slick, perfectly timed through ball which cut open the defence allowing Davies to slot home from around eight yards out.

Nomads were 1-0 up and immediately in control, with Aron Williams targeting the Llandudno end with both long throw ins and runs which helped pin the visitors into their own half.

In the 19th, Davies went close to a second when the ball came to him in front of goal with his shot this time held by goalkeeper Shaun Pearson.

With 30 minutes played, Llandudno's possession was extremely limited by a composed and organised Connah's Quay, whose goalkeeper Ollie Byrne was still untested.

And this didn't change for the remainder of the half, with Nomads repeatedly sending threatening crosses into the area from Declan Poole and Jamie Mullan as they pushed for a second goal.

At half time, Andy Morrison made his first change replacing Craig Curran with Tom Moore who showed his versatility by taking on the role of striker.

The crowd of 246 watched on for the second half which largely mirrored the first, as the dominant Nomads kept a tight hold of the game.

In the 53rd, Jamie Mullan had a shot blocked from the edge of the penalty area, whilst Llandudno's Marc Williams and Shaun Cavanagh continued to look for the ball in vain.

On the rare occasion a Llandudno attack approached the Nomads' final third, the likes of John Disney and Kris Owens comfortably dealt with it, with Owens coolly dealing with a run from Lee Thomas in the 67th.

On 70 minutes, Nomads found their second through Tom Moore, who grabbed his second club goal following his free kick effort against Prishtina in Europe.

It came after a sustained period of pressure from Connah's Quay, which allowed Harrington to strike on target from 20 yards out, with Pearson unable to hold the effort and the ball falling to Moore who simply slotted into the gaping goal at close range.

Llandudno then made a substitution of note for Nomads fans, as Lee Thomas was replaced by Max Moore, an academy graduate of Connah's Quay, who came on to help keep his side in the game.

Nomads' ex-academy players would become a key theme in the final stage of the game, as U19 turned senior player Harry Owen replaced Jamie Mullan in the 78th with Connah's Quay well on top.

The game featured a total of five Nomads academy graduates, Charlie Holland and Tom Bibby were also both introduced in place of Aeron Edwards and Aron Williams as Connah's Quay comfortably saw the game out.

With their place in the Nathaniel MG Cup third round confirmed, the Nomads now turn their attentions to a JD Cymru Premier curtain raiser away at Cefn Druids next Friday 13th August for a 7:45pm kick off.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall