First half blitz helps Nomads set new club record

Sunday afternoon saw The Nomads pick up a 5-0 victory over Pontypridd in the JD Cymru Premier, seeing Neil Gibson set a new club record for most consecutive victories.

The Nomads clinched their tenth straight win in all competitions after a first half blitz saw goals from John Disney and Mike Wilde along with a brace from Mike Hayes put Nomads 4-0 up at the break. Callum Morris scored the fifth of the afternoon with 15 minutes to go which keeps Nomads in second place in the Cymru Premier.

Team News
Neil Gibson made two changes from last weekend’s 3-1 triumph over Newtown as John Disney returned from suspension to replace the injured Ryan Stratulis in midfield. Josh Williams was handed a first team start as Aeron Edwards also missed out on today’s encounter. There was also a name on the bench for academy star Jack Wissett.

Andrew Stokes made just the one change from his side’s victory over Airbus last time out as Joe Woodiwiss replaced Jordan Knott in defence. Pontypridd’s latest arrival, Jamal Salawu was named amongst the substitutes.

The First Half
Nomads had the first sight of goal just seven minutes into the match as Josh Williams’ corner was met by George Horan, however the Captain’s header was inches wide of Ash Morris in the Pontypridd goal.

Nomads did hit the front shortly after as Josh Williams stood over a free kick around 30 yards out and spotted John Disney on the left hand side, Disney composed himself before curling past Morris and into the bottom corner.

Mike Wilde doubled the lead five minutes after Disney’s opener as a goalmouth scramble saw Callum Bratley have his shot blocked along with Mike Hayes whose shot deflected into the path of Wilde who was able to loft a close range strike into the back of the net.

Nomads were not finished as they continued to dominate a struggling Pontypridd backline. Ryan Harrington’s long ball into the box was flicked on by goalscorer Wilde which eventually fell to the feet of Mike Hayes who could make no mistake, tapping home into an empty net to make it 3-0 with just over 25 minutes played.

The hosts’ backline were again at fault for Nomads’ fourth of the afternoon as Mike Hayes grabbed his brace. A brilliant team press from Nomads saw Kieran Lewis’ produce a tame pass back to his goalkeeper, allowing Hayes to collect and run through on goal before finding the corner and capping off a sublime first half performance.

Pontypridd looked to find a way back into the game and almost pulled one back as Lewys Twamley delivered into the area which found Danny Williams but Andy Firth was alert and made the save. The ball wasn’t cleared just yet as Twamley latched onto the rebound but Firth denied The Dragons again.

The Second Half
Nomads had a glorious opportunity to make it five just moments after the restart as George Horan found Josh Williams who went for the curler but his shot was over the bar from close range.

Nomads made their first change of the afternoon as Anderson Pinto replaced Callum Bratley in midfield. Pontypridd also made changes of their own as Lee Baldock and new signing Jamal Salawu came on for Joe Woodiwiss and Ben Ahmun.

Andy Firth was called into action again as substitute Pinto lost possession to Lewys Twamley who ran down the left and went for glory but the Nomads shotstopper did well to stop the attempt reaching the back of the net.

Nomads made their second substitution which saw Paulo Mendes come on for Josh Williams who had received a yellow card for a foul on Kieran Lewis earlier in the half.

With 15 minutes to go, Mike Hayes set up Callum Morris to make it a five star performance. Another defensive error, this time from David Vincent allowed Mike Wilde to slip in Mike Hayes down the byline who then cut the ball back across goal to Morris who was left with an easy finish to make it 5-0.

The Dragons had another chance to grab themselves a consolation goal as Danny Williams laid off to Joe Hunt on the edge of the area who fired towards goal but was off target in his attempt.

Nomads also made their next switch as Harry Franklin came on for the final few minutes, in place of Mike Wilde who will be pleased with his performance, especially after scoring his 60th league goal for the club.

Despite an additional three minutes, Pontypridd were unable to grab that consolation goal they had been pushing for which gave Nomads their 11th clean sheet of the season and their tenth consecutive victory, a new club record for Neil Gibson and Nomads.

Match Report by Adam Angerer