Spirited Nomads sink Robins to make it two from two at Essity

Tuesday night saw The Nomads return to winning ways with a 3-1 win over Newtown in the JD Cymru Premier thanks to goals from Jordan Davies, Ben Nash and Harry Franklin.

A Jordan Davies strike inside just two minutes gave Nomads the breakthrough following a well worked move inspired by Harry Franklin. Davies’ goal was canceled out by Newtown’s George Hughes but in the second half, two quickfire goals just past the hour mark from Ben Nash and Harry Franklin ensured Nomads went home with all three points.

The Nomads have certainly had a brilliant record against Newtown in recent years, only losing once in the last ten meetings between the two sides so Neil Gibson knew full well that this was a great opportunity to get another three points on the board at The Essity Stadium and bounce back from last Friday’s loss to Bala.

Form
The Nomads come into this game having had a difficult start to the new Cymru Premier season.Neil Gibson’s side travelled to The New Saints on the opening day and were hit for six despite taking the lead twice in the first half. The Nomads responded perfectly to that defeat as they swept away Aberystwyth with four first half goals including a sublime brace from Josh Williams. However just four days ago, an unlucky Nomads were on the losing side against Colin Caton’s bala courtesy of a bizarre Jon Rushton own goal and despite dominating for the majority of the match, The Nomads rued their missed chances and went home empty handed.

As for Newtown, not a single win in their first four games of the season leaves Chris Hughes’ side with work to do already. A shock loss to Cymru North side Guilsfield in the Nathaniel MG Cup followed by two league losses to Penybont and Caernarfon piled up frustration for The Robins. Newtown got their first point on the board last Saturday evening after drawing at home to Aberystwyth but improvement in front of goal is undoubtedly still needed.

Team News
There were three changes to The Nomads side from last Friday’s match against Bala as Callum Bratley returned from suspension to replace Josh Williams, Harry Franklin replaced Ryan Stratulis in the attacking midfield role and there was a change in the forward line as Jack Kenny came in for Mike Wilde. Jon Rushton kept his place in goal as Andy Firth remained absent with injury. Youngsters Joe Lawlor, Jack Burman and Jordan Pownall were named on the bench.

Newtown manager made two changes from his side’s goalless draw with Aberystwyth at the weekend as Callum Roberts returned to defence, coming in for first choice captain Kieran Mills-Evans who dropped to the bench. Therefore, Shane Sutton entered the starting eleven to captain the side and replaced Matty Jones.

The First Half
The Nomads got off to the perfect as inside just two minutes, Jordan Davies found the breakthrough. Harry Franklin got past his man down the byline and played a ball across the six yard box where Davies simply couldn’t miss, tapping home from a yard out to give Nomads the lead.

Harry Franklin nearly turned provider into goalscorer as Ryan Harrington’s ball to the back post nearly saw the No.12 turn home but his marker was able to meet it just before Franklin could gain a sight of goal.

Jordan Davies’ opening strike was cancelled out in the 14th minute courtesy of George Hughes’ leveller. A cross from the right was headed clear by Ben Nash but only as far as Hughes who fired low into the bottom corner to level the scoreline.

Callum Bratley then had a glorious chance to restore The Nomads’ advantage after Jack Kenny’s ball cut back into the box found the midfielder who got his effort all wrong and was unable to test Wycherley from close range.

The chances were coming quickly for both sides and the game began to open up. Noah Edwards’ low drive was a whisker away from nestling into the bottom corner and then just a few minutes later, George Hughes nearly bagged a brace with a curling effort from the edge of the area which was narrowly over the bar.

Jon Rushton then made a tremendous save to deny Robins defender Ryan Sears. A corner swung in towards the near post found Sears whose powerful volley forced good reflexes from Rushton who tipped the ball away.

The Nomads almost edged back in front on the stroke of half time as Harry Franklin latched onto a long ball, burst down the byline and searched for Jack Kenny with a low ball but the pass was just a tad behind Kenny and the opportunity was gone.

The Second Half
There was just the one change to report just before the second half got underway as Matty Jones replaced Zeli Ismael for the away side.

Jordan Davies had been full of energy throughout the game and almost got his reward with a second goal. Another pinpoint Ryan Harrington delivery to the back post saw Davies throw himself at the ball, looking to head home but he could only divert the ball wide of the target.

Just two minutes later, Ben Nash restored The Nomads’ lead with a powerful finish. Ryan Harrington’s low ball caused confusion amongst Shane Sutton and the Newtown defence which allowed Nash to control the ball at his feet and fire past Wycherley to make it 2-1.

It was pure, scintillating football from Nomads who grabbed a third moments after Nash’s strike. A darting Noah Edwards run allowed the summer signing to play the ball across the face of goal where Harry Franklin was able to tap home for his first goal of the season.

The Nomads almost made it four and this one would’ve been the pick of the bunch. Jordan Davies stood over a free kick from around 25 yards out and fired goalwards but a diving, fingertip save from Wycherley denied the No.10 his second goal.

The Nomads then made their first change of the evening as Mike Wilde replaced Jack Kenny, who put in a great shift up front for his side.

Harry Franklin was extremely close to adding a fourth Nomads goal in the 76th minute. Noah Edwards picked the goalscorer out inside the area and Franklin looked to pick out the bottom right hand corner but his effort flew just past the post.

Jordan Davies was adamant that he was fouled inside the area following a through ball from Mike Wilde but the referee waved the shouts away once again and The Nomads were left frustrated as they knew a fourth goal would put the game to bed.

The Nomads made their second substitution as Ryan Stratulis came on for Harry Franklin, who was undoubtedly one of the stars of the show. A goal and an assist for the 23 year old proved to be a key difference in tonight’s scoreline.

Newtown pushed forwards in the dying stages of the match, looking to get something out of the game but The Nomads stayed strong at the back with Jon Rushton only having to make one comfortable save to stop Devon Torry’s header.

The full time whistle blew and The Nomads had earned themselves a hard fought three points. Goals from Jordan Davies, Ben Nash and Harry Franklin complete an amazing performance from Neil Gibson’s side against Newtown. Tonight’s victory means The Nomads sit in 6th place on 6 points in the JD Cymru Premier table.

Next Fixture
The Nomads are back in action in just three days time as Neil Gibson’s side travel to The Oval to take on Caernarfon Town, who have started strong in the early stages of the season so this fixture will for sure be an entertaining one for the spectators. The match will take place on Friday 1st September with a 7:45pm scheduled kick off time and for those of you who can’t make the trip to The Oval, the game will be streamed live on Sgorio’s digital platforms and you can also follow live updates from our club Twitter page.

Match Photos

Match Report by Adam Angerer