Nomads begin Welsh Cup campaign with Denbigh win

Saturday afternoon saw The Nomads progress into the next round of the JD Welsh Cup after picking up a 5-1 victory over Denbigh thanks to goals from Callum Morris, Mike Wilde, Harry Franklin and George Horan.

An early Callum Morris penalty and a Mike Wilde header gave Nomads a 2-0 lead before Paul Fleming’s strike from distance halved the deficit. Just minutes into the second half, Harry Franklin and Mike Wilde made it 4-1 with well taken goals. Captain George Horan was also on target to cap off a great afternoon in front of goal for Nomads.

Form
Nomads came into this game in spectacular form with four consecutive wins and clean sheets. Vital league victories over Pontypridd, Caernarfon and Haverfordwest saw Nomads climb to second in the Cymru Premier, continuing to keep up the pressure on leaders TNS.

As for Denbigh, they progressed into today’s fixture after seeing off Llanrwst United in an impressive 6-1 victory. Denbigh were also on the winning side in the FAW Amateur Trophy after a narrow 3-2 win over Dolgellau last month.

Team News
Neil Gibson made three changes from the starting eleven that defeated Haverfordwest as the trio of Ryan Harrington, Josh Williams and Aron Williams all returned to the side. Kris Owens was absent from today’s squad due to a recent injury but Nomads were pleased to welcome back Callum Bratley who was named amongst the substitutes.

Denbigh manager Dewi Jones made two changes from his side’s FAW Amateur Trophy win as Harry Lockley and Morgan Thomas-Sadler were replaced by Sion Jones and Samuel Haddon.

The First Half
Nomads took the lead straight from kick off as Aeron Edwards latched onto a long ball and was brought down by Denbigh goalkeeper Aaron Jones inside the area, leaving referee Tom Owen no choice but to point to the penalty spot. Callum Morris stepped up and made no mistake from twelve yards out, rolling his penalty down the middle to give Nomads a dream start.

A lively Aeron Edwards broke free of his marker and sprinted down the line before squaring a low ball into Mike Wilde but the cross just evaded the striker and Denbigh were able to clear the danger.

Edwards then came close to grabbing Nomads’ second shortly after as Ryan Harrington found space for a cross and delivered into Edwards whose header forced a crucial save from Aaron Jones.

Denbigh defender Ben Lockley received a yellow card for a foul on Harry Franklin. Ryan Stratulis stood over the ball and swung in an inviting cross which was headed home by Mike Wilde to double Nomads’ lead and make it 2-0.

The hosts had a great chance to half the deficit as Nathan Brown released Jake Walker through on goal, leaving Walker with only Firth to beat but the forward was unable to find the target as he shot into the side netting.

Denbigh did however pull one back through Paul Fleming as John Disney’s headed clearance fell back out to Fleming who struck a first time volley from 25 yards out beyond Firth and into the bottom corner.

Aeron Edwards controlled yet another long ball over the top but was forced wide by the defender, Edwards still went for goal from a tight angle but Aaron Jones was alert and made another important stop.

The Second Half
Nomads made the perfect start to the second half as Harry Franklin restored the two goal advantage. Jake Walker had his shot blocked by George Horan which led to a Nomads counter attack, seeing Aeron Edwards slip in Franklin who stayed calm under pressure to poke past Aaron Jones to give Nomads their third of the afternoon.

Mike Wilde scored Nomads fourth on the 48th minute as Aron Williams won back possession and played a lovely ball towards an unmarked Mike Wilde at the back post who placed his header into the corner to give Nomads a comfortable three goal lead.

Nomads were denied by the woodwork as Aron Williams drifted in from the right hand side and unleashed a powerful attempt towards goal which smashed the top of the crossbar and out for a goal kick.

Denbigh were close to scoring their second of the match as Sion Jones had an effort which flew just over the bar. Daniel Clarke then found himself in a goalscoring position but was denied by a great goal line clearance from John Disney.

Nomads made it five just before the full time whistle as Josh Williams’ corner was met by Captain George Horan who directed his header past Jones to cap off a great start to the Welsh Cup campaign.

Nomads now put their attention to the next fixture which sees them back in Cymru Premier action as Cardiff Met make the long trip down to Deeside Stadium on Saturday 15th October with a 2:30pm scheduled kick off time.

Match Report by Adam Angerer