Nomads held on the road again as unbeaten streak reaches twenty

Tuesday evening saw The Nomads play out their third straight goalless draw, this time against Bala Town in the penultimate JD Cymru Premier Phase One fixture.

Form
The Nomads came into this game, having continued their unbeaten streak which reached 19 games prior to this evening’s encounter. The Nomads have been held to two consecutive goalless draws by local rivals Flint Town and in form Newtown despite dominating for the majority of both matches.

As for Colin Caton’s Bala side, four straight wins in December helped secure their top six position as well as put pressure on The Nomads. However, a 2-1 loss to Pontypridd a week ago frustrated The Lakesiders in their pursuit of overtaking Nomads. Bala returned to winning ways and got revenge on Pontypridd with a comfortable 3-0 win at Maes Tegid.

Team News
Neil Gibson made four changes to his side as new signing Jack Kenny was put straight into the starting eleven following his return to Deeside, which was announced just a few hours before tonight’s kick off. Michael Wilde was named up front following his three match suspension. Aron Williams and Paulo Mendes were both handed starts whilst Josh Williams retained his place in midfield after an impressive performance last time out against Newtown.

Colin Caton made just the two changes to his Bala side with Naim Arsan replacing the absent Ross White and Paul Rutherford coming in for Lassana Mendes, who was named on the bench. Bala’s new signing Kieron Molloy was also amongst the substitutes for tonight’s game.

?The First Half
The home side looked to find the breakthrough early on, closing down The Nomads and forcing them to launch the ball long. Luke Wall’s free kick out wide was swung into an inviting area which included a number of attackers, however Ben Nash’s headed clearance averted the danger.

The Nomads’ first shot on target came from Aron Williams’ long throw which fell to the feet of Michael Wilde who had to send a shot on goal straight away amid pressure from the Bala defence, but the striker’s shot was stopped by Harri Lloyd.

Ollie Shannon was then inches away from giving Bala the lead on the 20 minute mark as he drove forward in the final third before unleashing a powerful shot from distance which flew just wide of the top corner.

Aron Williams’ long throw was then cleared by the Bala defence but only as far as Ryan Harrington whose sweetly struck half volley was instantly blocked and cleared.

A well worked move from Bala nearly saw them head in front as Chris Venables received the ball on the edge of the box and although the striker had time to pick his spot, the Bala captain dragged his effort wide of the target.

The final chance of the half came for The Nomads as Antony Kay was booked for a foul on Jack Kenny, resulting in a free kick for The Nomads in a dangerous position. Josh Williams took the free kick and his curling effort was not far away from flying past Harri Lloyd and into the top corner, however the goalkeeper remained calm to make the save.

The Second Half
Bala’s in form attacker Luke Wall came close to bundling the ball into the back of the net just a minute into the second half. A delivery from a wide area was punched away by Andy Firth with Wall looking to tap home from the rebound but the Number 8 had little time to control the ball, giving Nomads a goal kick.

Josh Williams then played in Aron Williams down the right hand side who crossed in towards Paulo Mendes at the back post, however the midfielder’s header from close range was wide of the target, seeing the scoreline remain goalless.

The Lakesiders had a glorious chance to find the opening goal after Naim Arsan’s diagonal ball found an unmarked Antony Kay whose header was off target, untroubling Andy Firth.

Two minutes later, Aron Williams went close to giving Nomads the lead in bizarre fashion. Williams’ cross turned shot looked to be curling over Harri Lloyd but a crucial hand from the goalkeeper tipped it onto the post, allowing Bala to clear.

Kieran Smith picked up the ball in the final third and drove forward, Smith then struck goalwards and a deflection off Callum Morris forced a fine save from Andy Firth to keep things level.

As we drew closer to the final whistle, it was clear both sides found it tough to unlock each others backline with The Nomads looking to create out wide, a series of crosses and throw-ins were dealt with by the home side who elsewhere looked to cause damage on the counter attack during the latter stages, substitute Lassana Mendes being the danger man with his pace and skill, however despite two minutes of stoppage time, neither side could find the net, seeing The Nomads play out their third consecutive goalless draw.

Next Fixture
Neil Gibson and The Nomads will now put their focus onto Saturday evening where they will make the lengthy trip down to South Wales to take on Llanelli Town in the last 16 of The JD Welsh Cup. The match will take place on 14th January with a 5:15pm scheduled kick off time.

Match Photos

Match Report by Adam Angerer