Nomads maintain close gap at top of table as Stratulis nets stunner

Saturday afternoon saw The Nomads close the gap towards the top of the JD Cymru Premier table with a hard fought 3-1 victory over Haverfordwest at Bridge Meadow. Ben Nash got things rolling towards the end of the first half before Harry Franklin doubled our lead with ten minutes to play and then just as we entered stoppage time, Ryan Stratulis stunned Bridge Meadow with a magnificent goal from the halfway line to wrap up The Nomads’ fifth consecutive victory.

After it seemed Haverfordwest were closing in on the breakthrough after a number of missed opportunities, The Nomads capitalised and after dominating possession, got their reward through Ben Nash whose cool finish put Nomads a goal to the good heading into the half time interval. The Nomads held onto their narrow lead throughout the majority of the second half and after Haverfordwest’s Martell Taylor-Crossdale was shown a straight red card, The Nomads and Neil Gibson knew a second goal was a must. Ten minutes from time, that all important second goal came as Harry Franklin tucked away his effort from inside the six yard box. Substitute Ryan Stratulis then stunned spectators in South Wales as he wrapped up all three points with a mind blowing strike from the halfway line, netting his first goal of the season in style.

The Nomads have found it quite tough when visiting Bridge Meadow in recent years having recorded just three wins in all competitions against The Bluebirds. The Nomads’ first Cymru Premier victory at Bridge Meadow came in November 2015 thanks to a George Horan double. Just 14 months later, The Nomads came away with one of their biggest wins against the South Walians after a staggering 5-1 win in the JD Welsh Cup and at the beginning of The Nomads’ second JD Cymru Premier title winning campaign, Craig Curran’s brace inspired The Nomads to a crucial 4-1 victory. Since then, The Nomads have been frustrated at Bridge Meadow with two draws in the 2021/22 season followed by last season’s 5 hour trip down south on a Tuesday night which resulted in a 2-1 loss.

Form
The Nomads came into this game in stellar form, having won their last four Cymru Premier fixtures which has seen Neil Gibson’s side keep up the chase towards league leaders TNS in recent weeks. The Nomads netted a staggering 15 goals in those last four outings and the opponents have certainly not been easy. A 3-1 win over Newtown, a 4-0 win at Caernarfon, a 4-1 win at Barry and a 4-0 win over Cardiff Met last weekend has put the whole league on notice as Nomads continue to perform to a quality standard week in, week out.

As for Haverfordwest, after coming back from their memorable European journey, it certainly hasn’t been an easy ride for Tony Pennock’s side during the first eight games of the season. Just one win against newly promoted Colwyn Bay leaves the Bluebirds in a tough situation a t the lower end of the table. Haverfordwest drew three from their first four but haven’t lived up to expectations since then, suffering two heavy losses to Newtown and TNS in recent weeks.

Team News
Neil Gibson, who returned to the touchline today after serving a one match suspension, named an unchanged starting eleven for the third consecutive week. Jon Rushton remained in between the sticks as Andy Firth continues to recover from a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Aron Williams continued at right back, joined by Ben Nash, Kai Edwards and Ryan Harrington to complete the backline. Noah Edwards, Callum Bratley and captain John Disney made up the midfield with Harry Franklin, Jordan Davies and Jack Kenny leading the line.

There were no injury concerns for Tony Pennock’s side but there were two major emissions from the Bluebirds eleven. European hero Zac Jones dropped to the bench meaning young goalkeeper Ifan Knott made his first ever Cymru Premier start. Haverfordwest midfielder Kai Whitmore, who has already received five yellow cards served a one match suspension with Ricky Watts returning to the side.

The First Half
It was a quiet start for both sides in the first ten minutes, The Nomads had the better of the ball and controlled possession but it was the home side who had the first real sight of goal. Dan Hawkins drove forward into the final third and struck from distance but his effort flashed wide of the far corner.

Neither side were able to create a clear cut chance as we reached the midway stage of the first half, The Nomads had opportunities to create from wide areas with a flurry of free kicks and corners but the Haverfordwest backline remained calm under pressure to deal with the threat.

Jon Rushton made a tremendous save in the 27th minute after a swift Haverfordwest counter attack. Martell Taylor-Crossdale laid the ball off to Oscar Borg whose shot at Rushton’s near post forced the goalkeeper into a fine reflex save to keep the scoreline level.

Taylor-Crossdale was proving to be the biggest threat as his effort from the edge of the box was crucially blocked just minutes before the forward found space inside the area and nearly found the net, but Taylor-Crossdale drilled his effort into the wrong side of the post and into the side netting.

The Nomads found the breakthrough on the stroke of half time as Ben Nash followed up on his superb brace last weekend to net a crucial opening goal for Nomads. Ryan Harrington’s low ball from the left hand side was met by Nash who steered the ball home from close range to make it 1-0.

The Second Half
The Nomads nearly made it two at the beginning of the second half as Noah Edwards’ cross was punched away by Ifan Knott but only as far as Callum Bratley whose low driven effort was stopped by Knott who recovered from the initial punch.

The Nomads were then forced into their first substitution of the afternoon on the hour mark as Kai Edwards went down with an apparent injury and was unable to continue. The defender was replaced by Ryan Stratulis.

Just moments later, Haverfordwest were reduced to ten men as Martell Taylor-Crossdale was shown a straight red card for a rash challenge on Harry Franklin. The ball was intercepted by Franklin who got to the ball before Taylor-Crossdale, seeing the Haverfordwest man lunge in with his foot high and there was only ever going to be one outcome.

The Nomads then made a double change after Taylor-Crossdale’s dismissal as Mike Wilde and Dan Roberts both came on for Jack Kenny and Aron Williams.

Harry Franklin made it 2-0 ten minutes from time with a finish inside the six yard box. John Disney’s corner was headed back across goal by Ben Nash and the Haverfordwest goalkeeper was unable to secure the ball in his hands, allowing Franklin to bundle the ball home and double our lead.

The Nomads made their fourth change of the afternoon in the 86th minute as Josh Williams replaced the current Cymru Premier top goalscorer Jordan Davies.

The Nomads all but confirmed the three points with a moment of brilliance from Ryan Stratulis. The substitute found space within the centre circle, spotted the goalkeeper slightly off his line and went for the spectacular, Haverfordwest goalkeeper Knott tried to get a hand to the ball but the height proved too much for him and Stratulis’ strike will surely be considered as a goal of the season contender. A mind blowing finish which rounded off a fantastic afternoon in South Wales.

Jack Wilson bagged a consolation goal for the hosts but fans were still astonished by what Ryan Stratulis had just produced. It was too little too late for Haverfordwest who now find themselves in a tough situation at the lower end of the table.

So unlike last season, The Nomads were not forced to travel down on a Tuesday night and a full strength Nomads side keep up their emphatic winning run. That’s now five consecutive Cymru Premier victories which has seen a whopping 18 goals hit the back of the net.

The Nomads remain in second and close the gap to just two points behind league TNS after today’s victory and we could certainly be in for another exciting title race between the two sides.

Next Fixture
The Nomads are back in action in just three days' time as Colwyn Bay make the short trip up to The Essity Stadium. The Nomads will be looking for their sixth consecutive Cymru Premier victory and will aim to maintain their 100% record at The Essity. The match will take place on Tuesday 26th September with a scheduled 7:45pm kick off time.

Match Report by Adam Angerer