Five Star Nomads End In Style

gap Connah's Quay Nomads put their Domestic License fallout on the back burner to end a championship-winning campaign in style, with a resounding victory over a hapless Rhydymwyn outfit.

The Huws Gray Alliance management committee served up a celebratory prelude to the main event by presenting Mark McGregor and his players with their winners medals, then the league championship trophy, prior to kick off as Queen's "We Are The Champions" blasted out of the PA system. Gary O'Toole, meanwhile, was rewarded for his stunning goalscoring feats this term with the league's Golden Boot award.

With the presentations concluded, Nomads kicked off their final match of the season with a much-changed lineup from the one that started the gritty 3-1 win at Rhayader Town on Saturday. Louis Mackin, Alan Hooley, Rob Jones, Danny Forde and Sam McNutt were all restored to the side as Stuart Scheuber, Jamie Wynne and James McIntosh dropped to the bench, whilst Adam McGee was rested and the influential Andy Alston missed the finale after being dismissed at the Weirglodd.

The champions were looking to begin proceedings just as they did in the recent reverse fixture against relegated Rhyd, which saw three early goals garner a 4-0 victory, but a swirling breeze prevented any excitement until the opening goal in the 18th minute.

A long free kick was pumped towards the visitors' penalty area and found the back-pedalling McGregor who powered a header goalbound, but Leon Bimpson palmed the ball over his goal. Bimpson had performed heroics to keep the score down in the previous meeting between the sides but he was powerless to prevent Ben Alston from crashing a header home from McNutt's resulting corner to give Nomads the lead.

Prior to the opening goal, the nearest either side had come to scoring was when Forde launched a speculative 40-yard effort high into the wind that was held underneath the crossbar by Bimpson. But Alston's first goal of a long season sparked Nomads into life and within ten minutes they had doubled their advantage.

After Ben Collins had shot into the side-netting and captain Craig Jones had fired harmlessly over, Collins tumbled under a challenge when about to shoot and the now dominant Nomads were awarded a spot-kick. O'Toole, who had shown some neat touches and excellent hold-up play in the early stages, converted with aplomb for his 37th goal of the season - fittingly, in the 37th and final game.

The goal sparked an entertaining celebration which saw the ten all-white outfield players line up in tenpin formation for Mackin, who had raced 50 yards out of his goal, to skittle his team-mates to the ground with an imaginary bowling ball!

Confident Nomads were now well on top and O'Toole had a couple of chances to edge closer to a record 39-goal haul for the Huws Gray Alliance league but curled just past the post from the left side of the area, before blazing over from close range following good work by the dangerous Jamie Petrie to play him in.

At the other end Rhyd struggled to get behind a solid home defence - with Hooley having taken Andy Alston's place in the back three - but they carved out their first half-chance some ten minutes before the interval, only for Marc Gunther to fire a free kick waywardly away from Mackin's goal. Shortly later, Mark Pyatt and Gunther, again, tested the Nomads rearguard without getting close enough to bring Mackin into play.

Just as Rhyd were showing faint glimpses of promise they were landed with a sucker punch when, after O'Toole and McNutt combined to bring a goalline save out of Bimpson, Petrie curled a low shot into the bottom corner - via a slight deflection - to add a third goal seconds before the half time whistle blew.

With a nine-point title win firmly in the bag inside 45 minutes, Nomads sought to mirror the opening day 6-0 victory over Technogroup Welshpool and began the second half in the same dominant fashion as they had played the first. Midfield engine Rob Jones, playing just in front of namesake Craig and Forde in the central triumvirate, became more involved and soon flashed a shot across goal before curling a free kick narrowly over.

The best opportunity to extend the lead, however, fell to the energetic Collins but he contrived to fluff his lines when unmarked on the left of the area - teeing up Craig Jones to skew a weak shot wide after O'Toole had dragged Bimpson out of his goal. Collins was handed a similar opportunity moments later but saw his shot blocked following Rob Jones' square pass, as Jones himself, then O'Toole attempted to drive the loose ball goalwards in the midst of a crowded area.

By the hour mark McGregor had made all three changes with McIntosh, who had replaced McNutt at half time, joined on the field by Scheuber and Tommy Baker for Rob Jones and the injured Ben Alston, and Nomads began to sit back and allow the lacklustre visitors some room to attack. A neat interchange sent substitute Jake Gibbons through but he could only shoot tamely wide of Mackin's upright, before Ashley Garside drove a free kick from distance straight into the Nomads wall.

Rhyd's period of probing failed to last, however, as a succession of corners produced a nervy goalline clearance from a Scheuber delivery and an ambitious McIntosh volley which dropped past the post, before efforts by both Petrie and McIntosh went begging as they blazed over when well-placed to hit the target. Collins then saw his dangerous low cross diverted towards goal by visiting defender Chris Guy, only for Bimpson to miraculously pluck the ball out from underneath the woodwork.

The lively McIntosh then scuffed another shot over from the centre of the Rhydymwyn penalty area, undoing O'Toole's hard work, whilst Forde, who netted twice in the reverse fixture, also tried his luck as Nomads poured forward. Eventually the pressure told and the fourth goal arrived with 15 minutes left on the clock as another driving Forde run had the floundering Rhyd defence on the ropes - the former Oldham Athletic youngster playing a neat one-two with McIntosh before smashing a shot high inside Bimpson's near post.

Not content with matching the result in the reverse fixture over a fortnight previously, Nomads pushed for further goals. O'Toole, in hot pursuit of league records, fluffed a low shot across goal with white shirts arriving in support, whilst Collins was once again denied when picked out by Petrie's cross - this time, a combination of Bimpson's quick hands and a covering defender diverted the ball away from goal. 

As the hosts surged forward Rhyd failed to exploit the gaps in the Nomads rearguard as, first Pyatt, then substitute Adam Renshaw saw their weak efforts cleared from danger, whilst at the other end Petrie's shot was charged down and O'Toole couldn't take advantage of Bimpson's poor clearance after another neat passing move involving Petrie and Scheuber.

In the 86th minute, the final goal that Nomads threatened for so long duly arrived when Petrie slipped behind a high defence to meet Scheuber's pass before squaring to the unmarked Collins who, this time, made no mistake in rolling the ball into an unguarded net to spark wild celebrations for an 89th team goal of a champion season.

NOMADS: Louis Mackin, Ben Alston (Tommy Baker 58'), Ben Collins, Mark McGregor, Alan Hooley, Craig Jones, Jamie Petrie, Rob Jones (Stuart Scheuber 57), Gary O'Toole, Danny Forde, Sam McNutt (James McIntosh 45').

Substitutes not used: Dean Thurston, Jamie Wynne.