Nomads share spoils with Steelman

The Nomads earned a point on their trip down south to Port Talbot Town, with Rhys Griffiths opening the scoring in the first half before Sean Miller found the equaliser in the second.

The game was of high importance to The Nomads, who knew a win would see them leave the bottom two thanks to Bangor and Prestatyn both losing on Saturday, whilst a draw would see them go one place up to 11th.  The Steelmen were looking to continue an excellent run which saw them claim a 3-0 victory against Rhyl and earn a place in theWord Cup semi-finals by defeating Merthyr Town 2-1.

The Nomads had to construct a squad carefully with the unfortunate clash of the game with the Development Squad's FAW Youth Cup fixture.  Such a clash meant The Nomads were limited to 14 players, which saw Jack Cheetham and Sean Cookson on the bench whilst Steve Evans and George Horan cover the back for McGregor, who placed himself on the bench due to illness.

It was the hosts who threatened first with Martin Rose hitting a looping shot which landed on the roof of the net.  Ricky Evans saw a headed effort go just wide, while McCormick made a double save from a free kick in what was a lively opening period of the game.

Ex-Newport County player Rhys Griffiths struck on 14 minutes to put his side in the lead, when, from a cross, he headed the ball which ricocheted off McCormick and into the net.  The Nomads response was a lob from the centre circle from Gary Roberts which forced Steve Cann to send the ball out for a corner.  One of The Nomads' best chances of the game then came when Steve Evans struck from 25 yards to hit the crossbar.

In what was a game full of chances, Port Talbot could have gone two up when Martin Rose sent a curling shot towards the top right corner of the goal, producing a good save from McCormick.

The Nomads fortunes then took a turn for the worse when Gary O'Toole was given a second yellow for continuing his striking effort despite a foul against him being given. The consequence of this meant he had to leave the field and put pressure on a ten man Nomads side.

Faced with this challenge, The Nomads came out ready in the second half and showed they were not downhearted by the ten men disadvantage which saw Sean Miller find the equaliser on 54 minutes.  Miller found himself in space in the left side of the area and slotted the ball past Cann to score his third goal in three games.

Miller again tested Cann who was ready, easily saving the shot from around 20 yards. The game began to look even better for The Nomads when Carl Evans was sent off for dissent, making the game 10 vs 10.

As the game entered it's final third the tension in the Genquip Stadium rose and both sides were aware of it.  With an effort from the hosts hitting the crossbar and Sean Miller sending a shot wide.  Despite both sides' best efforts, the winner could not be found and referee Ashley Jones blew his whistle after four minutes of injury time to confirm the 1-1 score line.

This was a positive performance from The Nomads who responded to going down to 10 men well to get back into the game and push for a winner, showing strength in all departments of play.  The Nomads continue their search for a first league win on Saturday the 11th October, when they host Bala Town at the Deeside Stadium.