Resilient Nomads keep out Steelmen

A sunbathed afternoon at the Genquip Stadium saw a goalless draw that could have seen many goals as a strong Port Talbot side took their strike force to The Nomads' defence over 90 minutes.

The Nomads saw a revised starting 11 with Simon Everall making way for Mark Smyth and Ricky Evans starting on the bench, whilst Jack Robinson also got a starting place.  Gethin Jones got Talbot's attack on The Nomads' goalmouth underway but could not convert as Terry McCormick pulled off a great save.

A big question this afternoon was would a young Nomads side be able to cope with the threat of Welsh Premier League golden boy and PTT's marquee signing Rhys Griffiths?  With the help of Mark McGregor's experience at the back, the first half of the game went by with no goals for either side.

The second half got under way with The Nomads looking ready to go, but were held up by an unfortunate injury to Michael Hayes when he clashed with the keeper whilst running onto the ball.  This brought on Ricky Evans who helped set up some of The Nomads' attacks, as although Port Talbot had much possession the game was not all one way traffic.

As the game approached its final quarter the need for a goal became more urgent, with The Nomads coming close when Everall - who had came on for Smyth - set up Ricky Evans who would have certainly scored if a Port Talbot defender hadn't been on the line to pull off a clearance.  The Nomads were playing better football than the previous half but were then rocked by the sending off of Paul Mooney - who was shown red in what looked to be a tackle that both players committed to.  This made a big task for The Nomads massive now as only 10 men were to keep Port Talbot at bay.

The final minutes approached and the fourth official indicated a sizeable five minutes of extra time.  This would mean running down the clock and holding on tight for Nomads, whilst Talbot desperately pushed to snatch a win from the bank holiday game. They almost achieved this when Rhys Griffiths headed a ball towards to the top left corner - intercepted by Nomads Man of the Match Terry Mcormick with one of his many excellent saves.

In a game where many would have expected The Nomads to struggle, they fought well and ultimately walked away with a well deserved point from South Wales. Todays scoreline means our second 0-0 result in almost two years. Hopefully the scoring will start on Friday, when we take on Bala Town with a 7:30pm kick off.

Match report by Will Catterall

Match Photos