Nomads fall at home to Old Gold

A bleak January afternoon played host to the welsh premier match up between Nomads and Carmarthen at the Deeside Stadium, where the visitors ran out eventual winners from goals in the second half from Thomas, Belle and Doidge in reply to Nomad's first half lead via Michael Hayes.

This was a match of importance for a number of reasons for Nomads, with Nomads looking to turn the corner from their bad run over the past months with  a host of new signings on hand with Luke Holden, Gary Roberts and Lee McArdle all starting with loan signing from Wrexham Sean Smith also on the bench.

Furthermore the game was also boosted by the return of Ricky Evans after a three month absence.

Nomads new signings had no easy task on their debut in Carmarthen, theWord Cup winners once again after their victory over Bala Town in the final last week. The Old Gold's trip up to Deeside was a vital one with points needed to keep their place in the top six solid.

Nomads started the game with some steady passing play in the midfield, new signings Gary Roberts and Luke Holden playing a central role in this. Danny Forde had an effort blocked in front of goal on five minutes, but neither team had a major chance in the early stages of the game.

Luke Holden was given a baptism of fire with some tough competition from Old Gold target man Paul Fowler, battling for the ball with him on the right wing. Paul Mooney showed his shooting credentials when he curved a shot within inches of the goal, his shot going just over the bar. Both teams were having their efforts on goal, but still searching for the chance to emerge the dominant side.

Nomads were the team to do just that on 26 minutes, when with space on the left side of the box Hayes took a shot from a difficult angle, striking the ball into the roof of the net to send the home side 1-0 up.

Following their goal Nomads saw much attacking play for the remainder of the first half, with the chance to go  2-0 up coming when Michael Hayes received possession with space in front of goal but his shot went high above the crossbar. Nomads chances continued towards the with Holden and Roberts both hitting the post within seconds of each other, with Holden making the shot before Roberts attempted on the rebound.

At half time the score stood 1-0 Nomads in a half that saw some encouraging attacking play from Nomads eager to turn the corner on their losing streak with their new look line up.

The threat from the Old Gold was very much in presence however, with Reffell looking dangerous on the right wing. Nomads may feel they could have been 2 or 3 goals up at the break, but nevertheless had a solid first half to build from into the second.

Carmarthen came out in the second half looking to find a way to get level and did so in an odd way, when Kris Thomas shot went on the line and seemingly cleared out by a Nomads defender, the linesman however giving the goal to Carmarthen deciding the ball had crossed the line. Carmarthen going level just 4 minutes into play after the interval.

All level and with rain falling fast on a softening pitch the second half was shaping up to be a tough contest for both teams. After their goal confidence grew in Carmarthen which saw them test McCormick a number of times.

The introduction of Lee Healey for Luke Holden was made in the hope that he could find a break for Nomads were under some heavy attacking from the Old Gold. On the hour mark the score remained 1-1 with the feeling goals were still to come in the game.

The goals certainly came but unfortunately for Nomads against them, as Referee Iwan Griffith' awarded a penalty to Carmarthen in the 73rd minute when one of their strikers went down in the box, Belle stepped up and scored from the spot, much to the anger of the Nomads players who felt the penalty was given unfairly.
In a boost to the Nomads team Ricky Evans returned to the field  replacing Michael Jukes. Nomads best chance of the second half so far came to McArdle who sent a rocketing free kick towards the Carmarthen goal, only for his shot to be deflected out.

Nomads hopes of points from the encounter were dealt a devastating blow on 90+1 minutes when Doidge was set up in a counter attacking move, easily scoring to give Camarthen the three points for the journey home.

Despite all their efforts, the referee blew the whistle after four minutes of injury time and confirming Camarthen's 3-1 victory.  It was a tough result for Nomads after a very good performance that was ultimately marred by the failure to convert a flurry of chances in the first half. Nomads will look to find their feet in the fiery fixture of the Deeside Derby, playing Airbus UK at the Hollingsworth group stadium at 7:30pm on January the 24th.