Nomads suffer first leg defeat in Iceland

Thursday evening saw The Nomads suffer a 2-0 defeat against KA Akureyri in the first leg of the Europa Conference League first qualifying round.

After a number of chances to get in behind the KA defence, The Nomads suffered defeat in their UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round. KA's Hallgrimur Mar Steingrimsson put the home side ahead on the hour mark with a well timed strike into the top corner and then just ten minutes from the full time whistle Daniel Hafsteinsson found the net from a set piece delivery.

Heading into the game, The Nomads have undoubtedly had a busy set of pre-season fixtures, beating Linfield 2-1 in Ireland and drawing 1-1 against Stranraer in Scotland. Nomads have also faced many teams across North and South Wales including tough tests against TNS, Penybont, Llandudno and Guilsfield. Neil Gibson, his staff and the players knew that every warm up, training session and match in pre season had to be fuelled with energy and set to a high standard if Nomads were to get a result here in Reykjavik. Gibson had stated in his pre match interview with the club that the "the players were in a really good place" ahead of the fixture following a spirited training session 24 hours before kick off at The Fram Stadium.

Gibson also declared that himself and his coaching staff have done some great in-depth analysis of KA throughout recent weeks and were aware of the threat they could certainly cause.

KA Akureyri are in the middle of their domestic campaign and sit sixth in the league table looking to hold onto that spot to potentially find themselves in Europe again. KA have recently had a dip in league form, suffering back to back defeats and having only won five games from 14 but the Nordic side bounced back to winning ways in the Icelandic cup after beating Breidbalik on penalties. Tonight’s fixture was KA Akureyri’s first time in European competition since 2003 and after finishing 2nd in their domestic league, Hallgrimur Jonasson’s side were finally back in Europe following a 20 year absence.

Team News
Neil Gibson named a strong starting eleven featuring the four summer signings of Kai Edwards, Noah Edwards, Declan Poole and Jordan Davies. Birthday boy Josh Williiams was alongside Callum Bratley in midfield. John Disney captained the side, Andy Firth was between the sticks and Harry Franklin sat just behind Jordan Davies up front. Nomads named a bench of Rushton, Roberts, Mendes, Morris, Wilde, Kenny and Aron Williams.

KA Akureyri's dynamic duo of Asgeir Sigurgeirsson and Hallgrimur Mar Steingrimsson both started up front with the versatile Rodrigo Mateo in defence. Scotsman Harley Willard was named amongst the substitutes along with club veteran Elfar Adalsteinsson.

First Half
KA were eager to get an early goal in front of their home crowd. KA had a great chance to take the lead inside 3 minutes after a through ball to Jakob Arnason saw the winger find himself in a perfect goal scoring position but Andy Firth stayed alert and made the save.

This tie was already turning out to be an end to end encounter after a long throw into the KA box fell to Harry Franklin who shot low on the volley but his effort was blocked. The resulting corner trickled all the way to the back post and found the feet of Declan Poole whose strike was also blocked by KA.

The first booking of the evening went to Noah Edwards after KA’s swift counter attack saw Edwards take down his man and receive a yellow card from Andorran referee Antoine Chiaramonti.

Nomads then had their best chance of the game as in the 30th minute after a ball from the left allowed Noah Edwards to powerfully strike goalwards but another save from KA goalkeeper Kristijan Jajalo kept the scoreline goalless.

KA were adamant they should have been awarded a penalty ten minutes from half time as Jakob Arnason’s low ball was blocked by John Disney and KA’s players, fans and staff roared with appeals for a potential handball but the referee let play continue.

After a first half filled with chances for both sides, The Nomads and KA headed into the break all square.

Second Half
The first real chance of the second half fell to Callum Bratley and the midfielder was extremely unlucky not to find the net as his effort, destined for the bottom corner was blocked at the last second before it could test Jajalo in the Akureyri net.

Minutes later, Noah Edwards was leading the charge forward again as this time he intercepted a heavy touch at the back from KA, and with Harry Franklin darting into the box, Edwards’ pass was misplaced and the ball rolled out for a goal kick.

The deadlock was eventually broken on the hour mark but not in favour of The Nomads as the home side took the lead. A floating ball from out wide fell kindly to KA playmaker Hallgrimur Mar Steingrimsson who took one touch before firing his shot into the top corner.

Nomads were eager to find a quick response to KA’s opener and they almost got their reward as Declan Poole’s floated ball into the box somehow found its way through a number of bodies and almost had Jajalo puzzled but the cross-turned-shot trickled past the post.

With 20 minutes to go, Neil Gibson turned to his bench to make a triple substitution as Mike Wilde, Aron Williams and Callum Morris all came on for Harry Franklin, Noah Edwards and Josh Williams.

There was a sense of deja vu when Declan Poole had another cross-turned-shot five minutes later, his delivery aimed for Mike Wilde almost caught out Jajalo but to his fortune, the roof of the net saved him and the goalkeeper wasn’t fazed.

Another glorious chance to force Jajalo into action went begging for The Nomads as this time Declan Poole’s free kick in a great position on the edge of the box curled over the top, adding more frustration with ten minutes to play.

After being on top for the last 15 minutes in search of an important equaliser, The Nomads found themselves two goals behind as KA doubled their advantage in the 83rd minute. A set piece delivery from the left hand side was cleared but only as far as Daniel Hafsteinsson on the edge of the area whose low driven shot ricocheted into the bottom corner and now Nomads knew they face a tricky task of getting back into this match.

Despite four additional minutes of stoppage time, KA were able to hold onto their two goal cushion as the final whistle blew In Reykjavik. The Icelandic side go into next week with the advantage but by no means are The Nomads out of this tie.

Post-match, Neil Gibson shared this thoughts following full time:
"We’ll regroup on Sunday once the lads have arrived back safely, it gives us time to digest and analyse this ahead of Thursday. It’s important we don’t lose our confidence because the game could have easily been a different scoreline today. We had key moments, key chances where we now need to focus on making sure we’re better in these moments."

Second Leg Information
The Nomads will now face KA Akureyri in second leg at Park Hall, Oswestry where Neil Gibson’s side will look to bounce back and turn this tie on its head. The Nomads certainly aren’t down and out of this tie so come on down to Park Hall and support the lads in what will hopefully be a brilliant European comeback story. The game will take place on Thursday 20th July and for those of you who can’t make the trip down to Park Hall, the club will be live-streaming the game on our YouTube channel and Facebook Channel featuring commentary from Bryn Law and former Nomads manager Mark McGregor. You can tune in to the livestream at around 6:45pm, 15 minutes before Kick Off.

Match Photos

Match Report by Adam Angerer