Nomads denied victory by woodwork

The Nomads were twice denied by the woodwork and will feel unfortunate not to pick up an impressive victory over Tranmere Rovers on Saturday afternoon, but still earned a respectable 1-1 draw with goals from Gary O'Toole and Mitch Duggan in the first half.

The Nomads continued their trend of prestigious pre-season friendlies with a visit from the Football League's Tranmere Rovers after visits from Dinamo Bucharest and Ludogorets Razgrad. The Nomads had a strong line up, with new signing Kevin McIntyre his first official game as a Nomads player against his former side, and this was a team that managed well against an eager Rovers outfit.

The opening goal of the game came in it's first quarter, with Gary O'Toole scoring on 13 minutes, as he latched on to a through ball ahead of 'keeper Sam Ramsbottom, poking the ball past the oncoming Tranmere stopper, allowing him to follow the ball into the empty net.

Tranmere showed their intent to get a grip on the game when they forced Terry McCormick to make a great save, spreading towards his left post to deny a Rovers Striker. The away following was left in disbelief minutes later, when Terry McCormick was caught off his line an open goal meant Tranmere had a certain equaliser, however the shot was cleared off the line by Ricky Evans.

Tranmere were then finally rewarded for their efforts when Mitch Duggan netted inside the box on 21 minutes. Nomads may have been weakened by the culmination of this equaliser and the loss of Gary O'Toole who was forced off with a minor injury, but his replacement Anthony Stanton continued an impressive pre season with a number of chances to his name.

Nomads came out in the second half and established themselves as the stronger side, with Stanton hitting the post and John Dillon coming close to reclaiming the home advantage. The biggest chance of all came when a James Murphy shot hit both posts and trickled across the Tranmere goal-line before going out.

Despite an impressive period of attacking pressure from The Nomads, they could not find the winner before referee Nick Pratt blew the full time whistle. This was a performance The Nomads could be proud of, and build on looking towards their next friendly at Llandudno Town on Tuesday the 29th for a 7:30pm kick off.

Match Photos