Spirited Nomads kick off phase two in goalless stalemate

Saturday afternoon saw The Nomads play out a 0-0 stalemate against Cardiff Met in the first fixture of phase two in the JD Cymru Premier.

• The Nomads travelled to Cyncoed Campus to take on Cardiff Met in the first fixture of phase two
• George Horan kept a clean sheet on his 310th Nomads start in the JD Cymru Premier
• The Nomads put on a strong display throughout the majority of the second half
• Cardiff Met and Nomads played out another 0-0 stalemate

The Nomads came into this game starting in 11th position and in the bottom six having been deducted 18 points earlier this week by FAW. However, Nomads impressed in their last game of phase one as they ran away 2-0 winners against Newtown thanks to goals from Callum Morris and Craig Curran.

Saturday's opponents, Cardiff Met, started phase two off in seventh position and are unbeaten in their last nine JD Cymru Premier fixtures which has seen them take points off league leaders TNS, Newtown and Flint Town.

The match began with Nomads showing intent of pressuring Met deep into their half but as soon as Declan Poole looked to be through on goal after latching onto Neal Eardley's long ball, the offside flag was raised and the attack was stopped.

The 10th minute saw Callum Morris get the better of Chris Craven down the right hand byline but he cannot find his man and was intercepted at a crucial moment.

Emlyn Lewis then went down for Met after a nasty clash of heads and was forced to be treated on the touchline. After consultation, he returned to the action, avoiding a potential injury which could have been severe.

As we passed the midway stage of the first half, Met showed their first signs of real pressure as they passed well in the final third but their efforts could only lead to a series of Tom Price shots going wide of the target.

Just before half time, Met had another good chance as a corner fell to Met captain Chris Baker but his low drive was blocked and Nomads survived the danger.

The referee then blew for half time and both defences had evidently continued to stop any sort of serious threat and so both sides went into the break at 0-0.

The second half saw Nomads start off like they did early in the first half as they continued to apply pressure, pinning the Met defence back into their own half.

Met had a chance when a long free kick fell to Eliot Evans on the edge of the box but he lashed at his effort and it sailed over the crossbar.

The first sub of the afternoon was made from Met as they introduced Harry Owen in place of Lewis Rees. This was shortly followed by Nomads' first substitution as Jamie Insall came on for Jamie Mullan.

Nomads eventually had men in the box where Declan Poole almost found Byron Harrison who bursted through the centre but his cross was cleared by Emlyn Lewis at the near post.

Callum Morris then made an extraordinary last ditch block as Harry Owen raced through down the right hand side and there was Morris to head clear and keep the clean sheet in tact.

Declan Poole then delivered another delightful cross aimed for Jamie Insall but there was Emlyn Lewis to deny Insall of a chance on goal.

The only yellow card of the match was given to Tom Price after he tripped up Aeron Edwards who looked to have escaped past Price. Met made their next change just after as Eliot Evans was replaced by Tom Davies.

In the final few minutes, Aeron Edwards came close for Nomads as his curling effort towards the bottom corner was narrowly wide of the target, keeping the scoreline 0-0 heading into injury time.

Nomads had one last chance to steal all three points as Declan Poole stood over a free kick which was whipped in towards the back post but Met were able to see out the danger after a goalmouth scramble.

The final whistle blew and like previous encounters this season between Cardiff Met and Nomads, the two sides could not be separated as the game finished 0-0 but a spirited performance from Nomads will undoubtedly give them the confidence to perform well for their upcoming fixtures.

The Nomads’ next fixture sees them return to Deeside Stadium to take on Barry Town in a match which will see Nomads seek revenge on Barry as they won 3-2 in this fixture in phase one. This game is scheduled to take place on Saturday 12th March with a 2:30pm kick off to be held.

Match Photos

Match Report by Adam Angerer