Academy steal show and Dugan off the mark as Nomads progress

Academy stars stole the show and Elliott Dugan scored his first goal for The Nomads as Billy Paynter’s side reached the quarter-finals of the Nathaniel MG Cup with a 3-2 win over Caernarfon Town on Tuesday night.

Dan Roberts and Luca Hogan, who are both academy products, found the scoresheet to cancel out goals from Adam Davies and Danny Gosset in an entertaining first period.

The decisive moment of the second half saw Elliott Dugan bag his first goal for The Nomads since arriving in the summer as he headed home from Brad Barnes’ corner to wrap up a special victory.

The rotated squad, featuring eight teenagers, proved to be no problem as we grabbed our first home win of the season.

Team News
Billy Paynter made 10 changes from last Sunday’s match against Penybont with Elliott Dugan the only player to maintain a place in the starting lineup. There was also a special moment for Dan Flanders and Joe Bennett, who were both handed their first senior starts for the club.

In addition, Dan Roberts wore the captain’s armband for the first time in his Nomads career and goalkeeper Jon Rushton also started for the first time this season.

Caernarfon boss Richard Davies made three changes from his side’s win over Briton Ferry Llansawel last weekend as Paulo Mendes, Sam Downey and Adam Davies replaced Darren Thomas, Marc Williams and Osian Evans.

First Half
It was a lively and energetic start from everyone on the pitch for The Nomads, which was pleasing to see.

Ben Maher’s strike from the edge of the area forced a block before Luca Hogan’s dangerous cross narrowly averted an unmarked Tyler Berry at the back post.

There were plenty of positives to take from the first half an hour, but The Nomads suddenly found themselves trailing as Adam Davies produced a deft finish at the back post to put Caernarfon ahead.

The visitors’ lead lasted just six minutes as captain Dan Roberts slammed the ball home from Jordan Pownall’s corner for his first competitive goal in over two years.

However, the Cofis restored their lead shortly after through Danny Gosset. A dubious decision from the officials not to award The Nomads a throw-in was frustrating, and when the ball came back into play, a low cross was steered home into the bottom corner by Gosset.

Caernarfon were forced into their first change of the evening moments before the break as Morgan Owen came off with injury and was replaced Gruff John.

Despite being behind, The Nomads continued to maintain their levels of energy and pace, which was rewarded with an equaliser on the stroke of half time.

Caernarfon failed to clear another cross into the area, which saw Hogan volley home the rebound from Dugan’s saved header to secure his first competitive goal for The Nomads.

Second Half
Zack Clarke came agonisingly close to putting Caernarfon back ahead early in the second half. The forward, who scored a hat-trick for the Cofis last weekend, had powerful efforts denied by the post and the crossbar in quick succession.

Billy Paynter turned to his bench for the first time as he brought on Brad Barnes for his senior debut. It was a fully deserved moment for Barnes with the teenager impressing as captain for our U18s and development sides. Barnes took up Jayden Tang’s place in midfield.

Barnes nearly made an instant impact as he shot inches wide of the bottom corner from outside the area. Hogan then came close to grabbing his second of the night when his deflected effort forced a save from Stephen McMullan.

More academy talent was introduced as Noah Sumner replaced Tyler Berry. Just three minutes after coming onto the pitch, Sumner won a corner.

From the resulting corner, The Nomads took the lead for the first in the match. Barnes’ delivery was met accurately by Elliott Dugan, who got the sweetest connection on his header into the top corner, leaving McMullan no chance of a save. The goal marked Dugan’s first in a Nomads shirt since arriving in the summer.

Caernarfon introduced Matty Hill, Joe Faux and Matty Jones to provide fresh legs in attack. However, each time Caernarfon sent a cross or long ball into the area, it was superbly dealt with by The Nomads defence, including some key blocks and clearances from Dan Flanders and Joe Bennett.

Richard Davies’ side pushed for an equaliser in all five minutes of stoppage time, but it was not to be their night as The Nomads held onto victory to reach the quarter-finals.

What’s Next?
The Nomads are back on the road and back in JD Cymru Premier action this weekend as a tough test away to Cardiff Met at Cyncoed Campus awaits.

We will face the Archers on Saturday, 21 September with a 2:30pm scheduled kick off time.

Match Photos

Match Report by Adam Angerer