Disney stars as Nomads come from behind to defeat Ferry

The Nomads extended their unbeaten run away from home to five matches with a 5-1 comeback victory over newly-promoted Briton Ferry Llansawel on Saturday afternoon.

Captain John Disney was the star of the show, assisting Fumpa Mwandwe and calmly converting a penalty, which was the perfect response after The Nomads fell behind to Luke Bowen’s goal. A dominant second half continued as goals from Aron Williams, Rhys Hughes and Tyler Berry rounded off a five-star performance in South Wales.

It was a moment to savour for teenager Berry, who came off the bench to score his first league goal for the club.

Team News
There was just one change to The Nomads lineup that defeated 1-0 on bank holiday Monday as Aron Williams replaced teenager Tyler Berry, who was named on the bench. There was also a moment to remember for academy star Brad Barnes, who was named amongst the first team squad for the first time in his Nomads career.

Briton Ferry manager Andy Dyer made four changes to his side that lost 5-1 to Cardiff Met last weekend as Rhys Wilson, Kian Jenkins, Jasper Payne and Alex Gammond all returned to the starting lineup.

First Half
It was the worst possible start for The Nomads as Luke Bowen put Ferry ahead after just four minutes played. Bowen latched onto Jasper Payne’s through ball and managed to beat George Ratcliffe with his effort across goal despite the goalkeeper getting a hand to the ball.

However, The Nomads produced an instant response and drew level in the 11th minute as Fumpa Mwandwe met John Disney’s cross and guided his header beyond Rhys Wilson via the post.

Jack Kenny nearly put The Nomads ahead midway through the first half as the striker flicked the ball towards goal from Ben Nash’s header back into the area, but Wilson was alert to the danger and made the save.

As The Nomads continued to control possession, Ferry’s frustration continued to show. Alex Gammond, Tyler Brock and Luke Bowen were all shown yellow cards within the space of 17 minutes.

Reds manager Andy Dyer was also booked by the referee for dissent after his side’s appeals for a penalty for a challenge on Payne were dismissed.

Second Half
The Nomads maintained their attacking threat in the early stages of the second half and took the lead with 52 minutes on the clock. Disney tried to pick up the pieces from Noah Edwards’ initially saved effort, but was fouled by goalkeeper Wilson and with no hesitation, the referee pointed to the penalty spot.

Disney stepped up to take the spot kick and calmly rolled the ball into the bottom corner for his first goal of the season.

The captain’s penalty opened the floodgates for The Nomads and moments after the restart, Aron Williams made it 3-1. A defence-splitting through ball from Disney allowed Declan Poole to square the ball for an unmarked Williams, who made no mistake finding the net from close range.

It was eight minutes after Williams’ goal when The Nomads made their substitution as Luca Hogan replaced Jack Kenny in attack.

Ferry’s goalscorer Bowen had a glorious chance to grab his second of the match and half the deficit when he was released down the left hand side of the area, but a heavy touch from the forward allowed Ratcliffe to safely collect and add to Ferry’s frustration.

Rhys Hughes continued his impressive start to life in Nomads colours as he added a fourth goal in the 71st minute. A goalkeeping error from Wilson allowed former Cymru U21 international Hughes to control the loose ball and coolly slot into an empty for his second goal in two games, building on his performance from last Monday where he scored the decisive goal against Flint Town United.

Four more substitutes were introduced for The Nomads with Dan Roberts, Ben Maher, Jordan Pownall and Tyler Berry all coming on for Aron Williams, Noah Edwards, Rhys Hughes and Fumpa Mwandwe.

Substitute duo Pownall and Hogan almost combined to make it five. Pownall smartly released Hogan through on goal, but goalkeeper Wilson won the one-on-one battle with the teenage forward.

However, The Nomads’ fifth goal eventually arrived in the 89th minute when Maher squared the ball for fellow substitute Berry, who tucked away his effort from close range to score his first league goal for the club.

Berry’s goal rounded off a five-star performance at Old Road as The Nomads climb up to fifth in the table with tonnes of confidence following a frustrating start to the campaign.

Victory against Cymru Premier newcomers Ferry saw Billy Paynter become just the fourth Nomads manager to win his first two top-flight matches in charge.

What’s Next?
Paynter takes charge of his first official home match next weekend and we face Barry Town United at the Essity Stadium. The match will take place on Saturday, 7 September with a 2:30pm scheduled kick off time.

The Nomads had joy in this fixture last season, claiming an emphatic 7-0 victory.

Match Report by Adam Angerer