Davies stars as Nomads claim third consecutive league victory

Saturday afternoon saw The Nomads overcome a tough Barry Town test at a sunny Jenner Park in the JD Cymru Premier thanks to a Jordan Davies brace as well as goals from Jack Kenny and John Disney.

It seemed that The Nomads were going to be dealt with an afternoon of frustration after Barry Town opened the scoring through Ollie Hulbert but two goals late in the first half from Jordan Davies and Jack Kenny instantly turned the game on its head. Jordan Davies was it again midway through the second half as his unstoppable shot meant the Cymru Premier’s top goalscorer gave Nomads a two goal cushion. John Disney wrapped it up five minutes from time after a brilliant passing move wasn’t dealt with by Barry, allowing the captain to tap home. The Nomads move up to second in the JD Cymru Premier following today’s victory, meaning Neil Gibson’s side sit just one point behind league leaders TNS.

The Nomads have enjoyed their time at Jenner Park in recent memory. Today’s win means The Nomads have won four from their last eight visits to Barry, drawing three and only losing one from the other four. Our last victory at Jenner Park came in May 2021 where a 2-1 triumph on a Tuesday night sent us on our way to our second JD Cymru Premier title.

Form
The Nomads came into this game on the back of a scintillating performance last weekend with a 4-0 victory against Caernarfon Town to secure a first away win of the season. The two previous away games versus TNS and Bala ended in defeat for Neil Gibson’s side but The Nomads have begun life well at The Essity Stadium, prevailing against both Aberystwyth and Newtown to maintain a solid position towards the top end of the table. In other news, the JD Cymru Premier’s joint top goalscorer Jordan Davies and his impressive performances in front of goal for The Nomads earned himself a nomination for the Player of the Month award during midweek so well done to Jordan for his fine work in the early stages of the season.

Barry Town came into this game winless in their first five games of the Cymru Premier. A narrow loss to Bala still provided positives for manager Steve Jenkins and in the middle of two home draws to Colwyn Bay and Haverfordwest, Barry pulled off a shock comeback away to TNS as two late goals from Ollie Hulbert and Kayne McLaggon meant the South Walians went away with a dramatic point which could prove to be vital for their season. Last weekend, Barry suffered another 1-0 defeat away to Pontypridd which therefore left them in tenth place, just one place above the relegation zone.

Team News
Neil Gibson made just the one change from last weekend’s emphatic 4-0 win over Caernarfon as Aron Williams replaced an injured Declan Poole on the right hand side. The front trio of Harry Franklin, Jordan Davies and Jack Kenny all kept their places in the starting eleven following their quality performances over the past few weeks. The Nomads had a full strength bench with the other only injury being goalkeeper Andy Firth as Jon Rushton remained in goal.

Steve Jenkins made two changes to his side that lost to Pontypridd last Saturday as Keenan Patten and Lucas Tomlinson replaced the duo of Jordan Cotterill and Callum Sainty. Barry’s academy stars Finn Roberts and Callum Huggins were named amongst the substitutes.

The First Half
The Nomads so nearly went ahead inside the 1st minute as straight from kick off, a ball in towards Jack Kenny allowed the striker to run through on goal but Mike Lewis was there to meet the effort and make the save. Lewis took the ball to the face and stayed down but after receiving treatment, he was fine to continue with play.

Aron Williams then set up Jordan Davies and Jack Kenny on two separate occasions in quick succession but his great deliveries were not put away as both strikers could only head over the crossbar.

The home side had their first sight of goal in the 13th minute as a dangerous Kayne McLaggon header forced a fine save from Jon Rushton.

Barry found the breakthrough around ten minutes later as Jamie Veale’s corner found Ollie Hulbert who sent a powerful header into the bottom corner beyond Rushton.

The Nomads were no doubt on top and continued to search for a way back into the game, Jordan Davies went really close with a low drive but another stop from Mike Lewis kept his side in front.

The Nomads had the ball in the back of the net through Davies minutes later as he was able to head home from John Disney’s corner but the linesman’s flag was raised for offside and the goal was disallowed.

Davies was not to be denied once again as this time he found an equaliser just five minutes before the break. Aron WIlliams’ pinpoint cross found Davies who brilliantly powered his header past Lewis to net his fifth goal in sixth games.

The Nomads were certainly not going to settle for a draw going into half time and in a flash, Neil Gibson’s men instantly took the lead. Just two minutes after Davies’ leveller, Jack Kenny was on hand to strike us ahead. Harry Franklin squared the ball to Kenny who simply couldn’t miss from just two yards out, meaning The Nomads went into the half time whistle with the advantage.

The Second Half
The Nomads had a great opportunity to double their lead in the 54th minute as Jordan Davies nearly grabbed his brace. The goalscorer was played through on goal and probably should have tucked his shot away but he could only fire wide of the post.

Barry made a triple change just past the hour mark as Sam Snaith, Troy Greening and Jordan Cotterill all came on for Mike George, Keenan Patten and also Lucas Tomlinson, who had received a booking just seconds before.

Davies certainly made up for his missed chance earlier in the half as he netted his second of the afternoon to give Nomads a two goal cushion. A scramble for the ball inside the area eventually fell kindly to Davies who perfectly placed his strike into the bottom right hand corner, leaving Lewis no chance of the save.

The Nomads then made a double substitution after Davies completed his brace as Mike Wilde and Callum Morris were introduced in place of goalscorer Jack Kenny and Aron Williams.

The Nomads looked more than likely to be coming away with the three points, the Barry defence were being made to work and it remained a quiet spell for Jon Rushton in the Nomads goal. Noah Edwards tested Mike Lewis with a powerful strike after skipping past Troy Greening but Lewis made yet another save to frustrate Edwards.

Jordan Davies was eager to net his first ever Nomads hat-trick, the forward got into a great position and controlled the ball inside the box before turning and firing goalwards but the angle was too tight for Davies to trouble Mike Lewis and the scoreline remained 3-1.

Substitute Callum Morris almost capitalised on a poor pass from Barry defender Evan Press, Morris intercepted Press and launched a dangerous attack but Press made amends for his error by tracking back and making a vital tackle to prevent a fourth Nomads goal.

However, Barry were unable to prevent a fourth just a few minutes later as Harry Franklin skipped past a number of defenders before laying off to Ben Nash whose low ball was turned home at the back post by our new captain John Disney for his first goal of the season.

The Nomads made their final three changes as we entered stoppage time as Josh Williams, Ryan Stratulis and Dan Roberts all came on for Noah Edwards, Harry Franklin and Kai Edwards.

The Nomads no doubt had the three points wrapped up and in the bag but Barry still came forward in search of their second of the afternoon. Chris Hugh let fly from range but a tremendous Jon Rushton save meant the 4-1 scoreline stayed the same.

The full time whistle blew meaning The Nomads brought all three points back to North Wales following a magnificent turnaround after going a goal behind. The Nomads showed quality, character and spirit to turn the game on its head. Jordan Davies’ brace means the striker is the current top goalscorer in the JD Cymru Premier with six goals in six games. The Nomads moved into second place and sit one point behind league leaders TNS.

Next Fixture
Neil Gibson’s side entertain Cardiff Met next weekend as Nomads look to continue their 100% record at The Essity Stadium as well as make it four consecutive JD Cymru Premier victories. The Nomads have never lost a Cymru Premier fixture at home to Cardiff Met so Neil Gibson will be looking to extend that incredible record next weekend. The match will take place on Saturday 16th September with a scheduled 2:30pm kick off time.

Match Photos

Match Report by Adam Angerer