Nomads finish Phase Two unbeaten in tense draw

Saturday afternoon saw The Nomads travel to Park Avenue to take on Aberystwyth where both sides shared the points in the final fixture of the JD Cymru Premier 2021/22 play-off conference.

Craig Curran's close range finish just before half time was cancelled out by Cameron Allen's second half header to score the first goal against Nomads from open play in Phase Two.

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The Nomads came into this fixture undefeated throughout phase two, keeping eight clean sheets without conceding from open play. It was an Easter weekend to remember as wins over Cardiff Met and Haverfordwest which gave Nomads the opportunity to clinch the play-off position.

As for Aberystwyth, they came into this game unbeaten in their last four with their vital win over Barry confirming Barry’s relegation from the JD Cymru Premier and left the four teams outside of the bottom two fighting for seventh place.

Team News
The Nomads named a much changed starting eleven as U19 Josh Williams was given his first league start after victory in the Centenary Shield and there was also a place for fellow U19 Jordan Pownall and Louis Holden who were named on the bench.

With George Horan and John Disney both suspended, Craig Harrison also named a much changed back four of Ryan Harrington, Neal Eardley, Callum Morris and Aeron Edwards.

Aberystwyth made two changes to their line up as Steff Davies missed out on today’s encounter with Alex Darlington taking his place. There was also a return to the starting eleven for Jack Rimmer after coming back from illness.

How Both Sides Shared The Points
Nomads started brightly with the key man being Mello who delivered a set of wonderful corners which eventually led to a Paulo Mendes header going narrowly wide of the top corner.

Minutes later, Aber were on the attack as Ben Wynne found himself free in the final third but a brilliant sliding block from Aeron Edwards saw the through ball to Harry Franklin intercepted.

Harry Franklin did have a glorious opportunity to put the home side ahead, however great amounts of pressure from Aeron Edwards saw Franklin lose his footing and Nomads regained possession.

Mello continued to impress as the half hour mark saw the Brazilian look for the bottom corner but his curling effort was just wide of Gregor Zabret's goal.

Aberystwyth did have the ball in the back of the net as Jack Thorn finished into the bottom corner following Ben Wynne's deflected pass but the offside flag was raised by the linesman and the Aberystwyth Captain was denied of the opener.

Nomads found the breakthrough on the 39th minute as John Ufuah teased his man on the edge of the box before unleashing a low drive towards goal which Zabret could only parry back out to Craig Curran who slotted home from close range to give Nomads the lead.

John Ufuah almost got himself on the scoresheet as he picked up the ball on the edge again but his shot was blocked and out for a Nomads corner. The corner was swung in and met by Aeron Edwards whose looping header was over the bar.

As the second half got underway, The Nomads made their first substitution of the afternoon as John Ufuah was replaced by Jamie Mullan on the left hand side.

Aberystwyth's Louis Bradford looked to get the home side off to a flying start to the second half as he burst down the left but was met by Neal Eardley who got back well to retrieve the ball off Bradford.

Mello posed another attacking threat to the Aberystwyth backline as he played in Craig Curran who was looking for his second of the afternoon but his goal-bound shot was blocked and cleared.

Josh Williams was brought off in place of Aron Williams with the U19 star having a week to remember after being victorious in the Centenary Shield during midweek as well as making his first JD Cymru Premier start and performing really well, earning a Man Of The Match award from the fans.

Nomads made another change in quick succession as Jamie Insall was introduced in place of goalscorer Craig Curran whose goal remained the difference heading into the final 30 minutes.

Paulo Mendes had a great chance to double Nomads' lead as he was played through inside the area but saw his low drive saved well by Zabret.

Aberystwyth made a substitution as they introduced their U19 star Cameron Allen in place of Alex Darlington who filled in for the absent Steff Davies.

Nomads were then forced into their next change and had to bring off the early second half substitute as Jamie Mullan picked up a foot injury, seeing another U19 star in Jordan Pownall coming onto the field.

With 15 minutes to go, Aberystwyth found their equaliser as Ben Wynne delivered into Cameron Allen who placed his header beyond Ollie Byrne and scored the first goal against Nomads from open play in Phase Two.

Nomads almost restored the lead as Ryan Harrington found space and audaciously struck towards goal and forced Zabret to make a diving save at his near post.

Substitute Jamie Insall was then slipped in by Paulo Mendes, leaving Insall with only Zabret to beat but his shot was wide of the bottom right hand corner, keeping the scoreline level.

The remainder of the match and an additional three minutes saw neither side grab a late winner and both sides went away with a point each after Craig Curran's first half goal was cancelled out by Cameron Allen's header.

Following the result which saw Cardiff Met overcome Haverfordwest at Bridge Meadow, Nomads did not finish in the play-off position but did finish ninth in the final table and after being six points adrift at the beginning of Phase Two, Nomads retain their JD Cymru Premier status and will be raring to go next season.

Match Photos

Match Report by Adam Angerer