Wilde at the double as Nomads' winning run continues

Saturday afternoon saw The Nomads continue their impressive run of form after a 2-0 win over Cardiff Met thanks to a wonderful brace from Mike Wilde.

Ryan Stratulis’ wide free kick just ten minutes into the match was met by Wilde who did enough to beat Alex Lang with his powerful header. Moments into the second half, Stratulis picked out Wilde again who sent a left footed effort into the back of the net to hand Nomada a fourth successive Cymru Premier victory and clean sheet.

Form
Nomads have been on an impressive run of form recently with vital Cymru Premier victories against the tough tests of Pontypridd, Caernarfon and Haverfordwest seeing Nomads climb to second in the table, maintaining the pressure on leaders TNS. Last weekend, Nomads were on the winning side again after progressing to the next round of the JD Welsh Cup through a 5-1 victory over Denbigh Town.

As for Cardiff Met, their bright start to the season has hit a slight roadblock after winning only once in their last four fixtures. A crucial win over Aberystwyth has given manager Ryan Jenkins positive hopes of a top six push. However, last time out, Met were frustrated after they slumped to a shock defeat to tier four side Pill AFC in the Welsh Cup.

Team News
Neil Gibson made three changes from the Welsh Cup victory over Denbigh as Callum Bratley came into the starting eleven along with Ben Nash and Danny Holmes. Last weekend’s goalscorers of Mike Wilde, Callum Morris, Harry Franklin and Captain George Horan all retained their places in the team. Nomads were also delighted to welcome back Anderson Pinto after returning from an injury picked up last month.

The visitors made two changes from their cup defeat last weekend as both Kyle McCarthy and Tom Price were brought back into the starting eleven in place of youngsters Jac Davies and Dixon Kabongo.

The First Half
Nomads didn’t take long to pose a threat to Met’s goal as a well worked move in the final third fell to the feet of Ryan Harrington who curled towards the top corner but his shot was inches over the bar.

Nomads made the breakthrough on the ten minute mark after Ryan Stratulis’ inviting free kick from the right hand side was met by Mike Wilde whose powerful header was enough to beat goalkeeper Alex Lang and give Nomads an important lead.

The away side had their first big chance of the game after a ball upfield found Lewis Rees who cut inside from the left and looked to bend one into the far corner but his shot flew wide of Andy Firth’s goal.

Callum Bratley came close to marking his return with a goal as he received the ball and set his sights on the top corner but a deflection took it behind for a corner which was instantly cleared by Met.

Just before the half time whistle, Ryan Stratulis almost bagged another assist as he swung in a corner which Callum Morris hooked towards goal, however Met did enough to scramble away. Stratulis then retrieved possession and delivered into the box again, finding Mike Wilde whose looping header was just wide of the target.

The Second Half
Moments into the second half, Nomads found themselves in a great position after Harry Franklin won the ball back and burst into the area, Franklin steadied himself and had his shot blocked but only as far as Callum Morris on the edge of the area who went for glory but was off target.

Nomads made it 2-0 just minutes later as Ryan Stratulis played a diagonal ball into the path of Mike Wilde, seeing the striker send a low left footed volley beyond Alex Lang and double the lead to 2-0.

Neil Gibson was then forced into making a change as Harry Franklin went down with an injury leaving Gibson no choice but to substitute the attacker. Franklin came off and was replaced by Mike Hayes.

Met began to come forward on the attack, in search of a comeback with Tom Price’s shot from distance taking a deflection, leaving Firth in an awkward situation but the goalkeeper did enough to make the save and keep a hold of the clean sheet.

Nomads made their next substitution with Ryan Stratulis coming off for Paulo Mendes. It was a sublime performance from Stratulis having produced two high quality assists to set up Mike Wilde for his first and second goals.

Lewis Rees had a glorious chance to half the deficit for The Archers as Sam Jones got down the byline and pulled back to Rees who blazed his effort over the bar from inside the area, keeping the scoreline at 2-0.

Met continued to defend a series of Nomads long balls but were unable to replicate it at the other end as Nomads also stayed strong defensively to see the game out until the full time whistle.

Nomads therefore continue to keep up the chase towards league leaders TNS as today’s victory sees Nomads remain second in the Cymru Premier table. Nomads now turn their attention to Tuesday 18th October with Ruthin Town travelling to Deeside in the Nathaniel MG Cup Quarter Final where Nomads will look to continue the quest to retain last season’s silverware.

Match Photos

Match Report by Adam Angerer