Maher strikes late winner as Nomads sink Bravo in first leg

Ben Maher marked his Connah’s Quay Nomads and European debut in style as his late volley saw The Nomads defeat NK Bravo in Slovenia to claim a 1-0 advantage in our UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round first leg.

Both teams were still able to play quality football despite the scorching weather conditions, but it was The Nomads who had the extra cutting edge to claim an infamous win as Maher’s volley on the rebound from Ben Nash’s header was enough to seal the deal in Ljubljana.

The victory marked the club’s third ever away win in European competition - following on from our heroics at Stabaek in 2016 and at Kilmarnock in 2019.

Team News
New signings Chris Marriott and George Ratcliffe started their first competitive matches for The Nomads. John Disney captained the side in his seventh european journey for The Nomads as academy stars Luca Hogan, Jordan Pownall, Jack Burman joined our other new recruits Anderson Pinto, Elliott Dugan and Ben Maher on the bench.

Bravo manager Ales Arnol made two changes from his side’s pre-season victory over FK Partizan as midfielder Gašper Trdin returned from a two month absence. €400,000 signing Miguel Rodrigues also started his first competitive match for the club. Luka Kerin and Lan Štravs dropped to the bench.

First half
Bravo came close to the opening goal on two occasions inside the opening six minutes of the match. Jakoslav Stankovic’s low cross was blocked by Ben Nash and the ball nearly found its way into the bottom corner, but luckily The Nomads survived.

Two minutes later, Mark Španring made a darting run into the area, which almost paid off as the defender’s header at the near post flashed inches wide.

The Nomads’ first shot on target arrived in the 17th minute as Harry Franklin beat his marker down the left hand side and fired a fierce effort at the near post, which then forced Bravo goalkeeper Matija Orbani? into a diving save.

Following a much needed drinks break in Ljubljana, the first yellow card of the match was shown to Stankovic after a rash challenge on Noah Edwards.

The Bravo attacker was amongst the action once again three minutes after his booking as he burst into the area, but even with time on his hands, his strike proved to be a comfortable save for George Ratcliffe.

Bravo had another glorious opportunity to go ahead, this time through Slovenian first team international Matej Poplatnik, whose header from eight yards out was way over the bar.

The Nomads ended the half with a solid spell of pressure as Noah Edwards and Harry Franklin both had their efforts from inside the area blocked, meaning we still awaited the breakthrough at Šiška Sports Park.

Second half
Bravo made their first substitution four minutes into the second half as Lan Štravs replaced Beno Selan in midfield. Štravs, along with teammate Španring, were both shown yellow cards shortly after for fouls on Callum Bratley and Jack Kenny respectively.

Bravo strike duo Poplatnik and Tu?i? combined with each other in search of the opener, but their end product left themselves and their teammates frustrated.

Neil Gibson turned to his bench for the first time of the match as Ben Maher and Elliott Dugan came on for their competitive Nomads debuts. The new signings replaced Aron Williams and Jack Kenny.

Nemanja Jakšic was the next Bravo player to be shown a yellow card after he deliberately brought down Franklin on the counter-attack.

Five minutes later, Franklin nearly scored one of the most bizarre goals fans would ever see. Tuci?cs clearance was blocked by Franklin, whose touch on the ball nearly found the bottom corner, but the attempt spun inches wide.

The Nomads looked the better side in the latter stages of the match, and eventually got their reward in the 83rd minute as Ben Maher broke the deadlock with his first Nomads and European goal.

Nash’s looping header smashed against the crossbar, but the rebound fell kindly to Maher, who made no mistake from close range, volleying home and sending the squad, staff and fans into jubilation.

Goal: Ben Maher | NK Bravo 0-1 Connah's Quay Nomadspic.twitter.com/BOfw83SZ63

— PushGoals (@PushGoals) July 11, 2024

There were five minutes of stoppage time, but Bravo were unable to conjure up any real threatening attacks, and when the full time whistle blew, the celebrations began.

Thursday’s victory was the club’s third ever away in European competition and our first ever away win in the Europa Conference League. The win also helped Wales move up to 48th place in the UEFA coefficient rankings.

What’s next?
The Nomads return to Wales next Thursday to face Bravo in the second leg at Nantporth Stadium. Neil Gibson and his side will know that a repeat of the first leg performance will give The Nomads a huge chance of progressing into the second qualifying round.

Thursday’s match at Nantporth Stadium will kick off at 6:30pm. All support is much appreciated as we aim to add another special moment to our club history.

You can buy your tickets now by clicking here

Match Photos

Match Report by Adam Angerer