Nomads win at Nantporth

For the third time this season, The Nomads recorded a victory over Bangor City, as goals from Ryan Fraughan and Sean Miller earned them a 2-1 victory.

This was a game of mass importance for both sides, with The Nomads already safe from relegation thanks to Welsh Premier League results elsewhere, and aiming for a seventh place entry into the play offs.  Bangor City meanwhile, were looking to widen the gap between themselves and the relegation zone, with three games to go until the end of the season.

To do so, The Citizens started an attractive front three of Sion Edwards, Lee Healey and Les Davies.  Going against Bangor were a Nomads outfit consisting of Steve Evans, George Horan and Cortez Belle who retained his position in the team following an impressive debut against Rhyl.

The game started at a high tempo, making it clear to the crowd and the live S4C cameras, that both teams were going for the win.  The first attempt to breakthrough went to The Nomads via Belle, who headed wide of goal.  Belle continued to make his presence known minutes later, when he was in a great position in the box only to have his shot blocked.

The rapid speed of Sion Edwards nearly caught The Nomads off guard when he ran down the left wing from his own half to send a shot floating high over McCormick’s goal.  Jamie Crowther had his first attempt in the tenth minute, sending a low shot wide of goal.

The game was an end to end affair throughout the first half, seen when a Nomads attack was halted due to a tackle on Alan Bull by Ryan Edwards, and Lee Healey sending a shot towards goal for Bangor, all within the same passage of play.

When Anthony Miley intercepted Cortez Belle with a deliberate handball inside the Bangor area, referee Iwan Griffith pointed to the penalty spot.  Ryan Fraughan stepped up and slotted the ball to the left of Connor Roberts, sending The Nomads 1-0 up in the 26th minute.

Boosted by their advantage, The Nomads continued to push forward, getting a chance when Fraughan sent a free kick into the box which Crowther narrowly headed over.  Despite The Nomads lead, Bangor stayed very much in the game, pressuring the Nomads defence to concede two corners at the end of the first half.

The Nomads may have gone in at half time with a two goal lead if Miller had not been unlucky to mis-hit a goal scoring opportunity around eight yards from the Bangor goal.  Nevertheless, the Nomads had a deserved one goal lead at the interval, reflective of their efficient and solid display of football in the first 45.

The second half began much like the first with both teams attacking from the off. Bull and Fraughan linked up in the Bangor half, yet the move ended in a goal kick for the home side. Bangor then had a corner caught by McCormick and kept up the pressure through a shot from Healey that sailed wide of goal.

The formidable Les Davies of Bangor presented his individual skill, surging down the right flank of The Nomads half and shooting from around 15 yards, his effort only inches wide of goal.  In the face of such attack, The Nomads did not back down, when in the 62nd minute Ryan Fraughan carried the ball towards goal, beating his man and squaring a pass to Miller, whose shot rolled slowly across the line, giving The Nomads a 2-0 lead and Miller his eighth goal of the season – and third against Bangor.

The quality of the game remained high after this goal with Bangor fighting to get back into it, achieving just that in the 77th minute when Chris Jones was able to simply head the ball into The Nomads' net a yard from the goal line.  This was a deserved goal from a home side that were refusing to back down, and set up the game for a tense final ten minutes.

Bangor pressed The Nomads into their own half during the final minutes of normal time, with an almost certain goal denied to them thanks to a superb save from McCormick in the 88th minute.  Knowing the clock was running down, Miller and Crowther were glad to take the ball into Bangor’s final third and retain possession.

The nerves of the travelling Nomads support were not helped by the announcement of five minutes added time at the end of the 90 minutes. Despite two corners to the home side and a last shooting effort from Les Davies, The Nomads remained resilient and were celebrating a 2-1 win at full time.

This result brings Nomads to 37 points in the play off conference, and only two points away from seventh place. The push for the play offs continues at Deeside next week, when Nomads welcome Carmarthen on Saturday the 18th April for a 2:30pm kick off.

Match Photos