Nomads held by Seasiders after Fumpa goal cancelled out

Summer signing Fumpa Mwandwe scored for The Nomads again, but his goal was not enough for all three points against Aberystwyth Town as John Owen’s volley salvaged a point for the Seasiders.

The Nomads dominated possession and got their reward with 66 minutes on the clock as Fumpa buried his effort from close range into the bottom corner after some superb work from Aron Williams to keep the attack alive.

However, Fumpa’s strike was cancelled out 10 minutes later as Aberystwyth Town striker John Owen sent a superb volley beyond George Ratcliffe.

Team News
There was just one change from last weekend’s starting lineup against Haverfordwest County as Elliott Dugan replaced Luca Hogan up front. There was also a return to the bench for Jack Kenny, who had suffered a minor injury setback over the few weeks.

Aberystwyth manager Anthony Williams made two changes to his side that lost 4-1 to Newtown on the opening day as Niall Flint and Christoph Aziamale were replaced by Calum Huxley and Devon Torry.

The First Half
The Nomads instantly applied the pressure and almost took the lead inside five minutes as Fumpa’s low ball was parried out by Aberystwyth goalkeeper Dave Jones, leading to an effort from Dugan which was narrowly over the bar.

Aberystwyth also had an early chance of their own, which probably should have been taken as John Owen intercepted the ball in the final third and rushed through one-on-one with Ratcliffe, only for his tame effort to be easily cleared by Kai Edwards.

The Nomads continued to take charge of the match and were frustratingly denied by the woodwork on 33 minutes. Declan Poole’s cross sailed through to Fumpa at the back post, allowing the striker to tease his marker and get his shot away, but his effort thundered against the near post.

Aron Williams came close to finding the breakthrough on the stroke of half time as his powerful drive from the edge of the area flashed inches wide of the post.

Poole continued to cause danger down the right hand side and one of his accurate crosses almost led to the opening goal in first half stoppage time as he found Dugan, whose looping header was watched over the top of the bar by Jones.

The Second Half
Dugan had another opportunity to put The Nomads ahead as just three minutes after the restart, his outside-the-foot strike drifted narrowly wide of the far corner. Dugan was later replaced by Luca Hogan, who came on to face his former club.

The deadlock was eventually broken in the 66th minute as Fumpa scored his second goal in
However, the lead did not last long as John Owen pulled the Seasiders level against the run of play. A corner fell kindly back out to the striker, who flicked the ball up and volleyed across goal beyond George Ratcliffe.

Fresh legs were introduced for The Nomads as the quest to restore the lead began. Jack Kenny returned from injury to replace goalscorer Fumpa whereas academy star Tyler Berry came on for Aron Williams, who suffered a slight knock earlier on in the match.

Despite being pegged back by Owen’s volley, The Nomads still maintained levels of intensity and kept piling the pressure on the Aberystwyth defence. Captain John Disney came close to restoring the lead as his deflected strike from the edge of the area whistled past the post.

A slight knock to Ben Nash saw the defender replaced by Dan Roberts as we entered five minutes of stoppage time.

The Nomads pushed for a second goal, but were ultimately frustrated by the Aberystwyth defence, which meant the points were shared at Park Avenue. The result sees The Nomads get their first point on the board after last weekend’s loss to Haverfordwest.

What’s Next?
The Nomads return to action on Monday, 26 August as we face Flint Town United at the Essity Stadium in the Flintshire derby. Monday’s match will kick off at 2:30pm.

The Nomads have already had success in Flintshire derbies this season having defeated Buckley Town 3-0 in the Nathaniel MG Cup first round a fortnight ago.

Match Report by Adam Angerer