Hayes and Firth the heroes as Nomads win amid late drama

Saturday afternoon saw The Nomads pick up a 1-0 victory over Penybont thanks to Mike Hayes’ 100th Cymru Premier goal and a late penalty save from Andy Firth.

Nomads capitalised on Dan Jefferies’ first half red card as Mike Wilde’s shot fell into the path of Mike Hayes who put Nomads ahead in the 70th minute with his milestone 100th Cymru Premier goal. Deep into stoppage time, the hosts were awarded a penalty which Nathan Wood took but Andy Firth came to Nomads’ rescue as he saved the spot kick. John Disney received a late red card after receiving a second yellow card following Wood's penalty miss.

Form
Nomads came into this game with wins in their last six matches in all competitions. Last weekend saw Nomads make a statement for a top six finish after Mike Wilde’s brace secured a 2-0 victory over Cardiff Met. Nomads also progressed to the Semi Finals of the Nathaniel MG Cup last Tuesday through Anderson Pinto’s first Nomads goals helped see off Cymru North side Ruthin Town.

As for Penybont, a solid 5-1 win over Risca United in the JD Welsh Cup saw Rhys Griffiths’ side return to winning easy after dropping points against Pontypridd and Flint Town in the Cymru Premier. Last weekend, Penybont overcame a struggling Airbus in a 3-0 win which keeps them also in the race for a top six position.

Team News
Neil Gibson made two changes from the 2-0 win over Cardiff Met as Callum Bratley dropped to the bench with Harry Franklin absent from today’s squad. The duo of Aron Williams and Aeron Edwards came into the starting eleven. Andy Firth was named in between the sticks with Mike Wilde leading the line for Nomads.

Rhys Griffiths also made two changes from his side’s victory over Airbus as Kostya Georgievsky and Ryan Reynolds were brought back into the side in place of Sam Snaith and Kai Whitmore who both dropped to the bench. Keyon Reffell also returned to the bench after missing out last weekend.

The First Half
Penybont were first to have a sight of goal as Kane Owen fired across the six yard box which Rhys Kavanagh flick towards goal from close range but the Penybont forward was denied by a fine save from Andy Firth.

Nomads were forced into an early substitution as Aron Williams went down with an injury and Neil Gibson took no risk and brought on Callum Bratley in his place.

Penybont defender Dan Jefferies received a straight red card midway through the first half after putting his knee to the head of John Disney whilst both players were on the ground, giving referee Richard Harrington no choice but to dismiss Jefferies.

Mael Davies nearly gave his side the lead after a corner headed away by George Horan fell to Davies on the right side of the area before he volleyed towards the far corner but his shot flashed wide of Firth in the Nomads goal.

The Nomads forward line began to use the extra man to their advantage as Ryan Stratulis almost picked out Mike Wilde with a great cross but goalkeeper Alex Pennock was alert and rushed out to collect in time.

It was evident that Jefferies’ red card began to take its toll as Nomads continued to create chances, in search of the opening goal. Ryan Stratulis took aim but his effort was inches over the crossbar.

The home side were denied by the woodwork five minutes before the half time whistle as Kane Owen’s free kick on the edge of the box fell into the path of Nathan Wood who could only fire his effort onto the post.

The Second Half
Penybont were able to clear away a Nomads cross and launch a counter attack led by Nathan Wood and Kostya Georgievsky who looked to cross back into Wood in a goalscoring position but The Nomads backline worked well to avert the danger.

On the hour mark, Neil Gibson made his second substitution of the afternoon as Gibson looked to strengthen in attack with Mike Hayes coming on to replace Ben Nash, who was on a yellow card.

Aeron Edwards had a chance to open the scoring for Nomads after he controlled the ball inside the penalty area, however his powerful shot was always rising over Pennock in the Penybont goal.

Moments later, Nomads did open the scoring after Mike Hayes bagged his 100th Cymru Premier goal. Danny Holmes’ cross was met by Mike Wilde whose effort rebounded back off the post and left Hayes with a nice and easy finish to put Nomads 1-0 up with 20 minutes to go.

Nomads then made their next switch as last Tuesday’s Nathaniel MG Cup hero Anderson Pinto came on for Ryan Stratulis. Penybont also made a change with Tom Tweedy coming on for Kostya Georgievsky.

Three minutes into stoppage time, Penybont were awarded a penalty by the referee after Anderson Pinto had been deemed to have fouled Tom Tweedy inside the area.

Nathan Wood stepped up but had his penalty wonderfully saved by Andy Firth who guessed correctly down to his right hand side, keeping Nomads on course for all three points.

The full time whistle blew meaning Mike Hayes’ milestone goal followed by Andy Firth’s goalkeeping heroics were enough to give Nomads their fifth consecutive victory in the Cymru Premier and move four points clear in second place.

Next Fixture
The Nomads now focus on their next test in the Cymru Premier which sees Newtown make the trip down to Deeside Stadium with Nomads looking to continue their fantastic run of form. The match will take place on 28th October at 7:45pm.

Match Report by Adam Angerer