Nomads Europa hopes dealt knockout blow

On Sunday afternoon, The Nomads lost out to Aberystwyth Town by 3 goals to 2 in the Welsh Premier Europa League Play Offs.  Goals from Sean Miller and Steve Evans saw The Nomads take the lead on two occasions, but a last minute strike from Mark Jones saw Aberystwyth progress to the final.

This was to be the last, and certainly the biggest game of The Nomads' season, who had entered the play offs in some real, last day of league drama at Deeside, where a Nomads win and Rhyl loss saw them slip into the seventh place playoff position.  After TNS beat Newtown in the Welsh Cup Final, the Play Off’s took up a last four format consisting of The Nomads, Aberystwyth, Port Talbot and Newtown.  The winner of the competition will go on to represent Wales in the first qualifying round of the Europa League 2015/16.  After Newtown defeated Port Talbot on Saturday, Sunday’s game would decide their opponents in front of live S4C cameras.

The Nomads started a full strength squad consisting of Sean Miller, Ryan Fraughan and Cortez Belle.  Although this line up may have filled The Nomads' faithful with confidence, the home side were equally as strong with Geoff Kellaway, Craig Williams and the league’s top goal scorer Chris Venables included in Aberystwyth’s starting lineup.

The game began with a fast, attacking pace, seen when The Nomads were awarded a corner which Mike Lewis caught to appease any threat.  Minutes later, Ross Stephens and Geoff Kellaway launched an attack for Aberystwyth but were caught offside. 

Both teams continued to try to leave their impression on the game early on, with Luke Sherbon getting the game's first real chance, when he hit a shot inside The Nomads' area straight to McCormick, who saved.  The home side again showed their attacking assets when McCormick had to dive to deny Venables access to a cross.

Yet the breakthrough came to The Nomads in the 14th minute, when Sean Miller found himself in a great position in the Aber area to receive a pass from Kevin McIntyre and send the ball coolly past Lewis and into the net.

The Nomads' lead would however last for less than five minutes, when Referee Bryn Markham Jones awarded a penalty to Aberystwyth  after Jack Riley brought down Craig Williams.  Stepping up was Chris Venables, who struck low into the bottom left corner in the 19th minute, making the game level again at 1-1.

Neither side accepted the score line for the remainder of the half as they both continued to push forward.  Cortez Belle went for a header towards goal before Ross Stephens had a shot at The Nomads' goalmouth curve wide.  Ryan Fraughan sent an effort towards the Aber goal for Lewis to save after some great work from Alan Bull to hold up the ball in the box.

Despite continued offensive play, at the end of the first half the score stood at 1-1, which was an agreeable reflection of the game in which neither side had dominated. Aberystwyth showed resilience in the midfield, whilst The Nomads were using the wings to launch some effective attacks. 

As play resumed, a similar tempo to the first half was clear. Alan Bull made his way to the Aberystwyth last third, sending an effort just wide.  Sgorio's Man of the Match, Sean Miller, continued to shine, beating three players to send a pass to Cortez Belle who was intercepted in his connection to the ball.

One of the home sides greatest chances came when Geoff Kellaway was in a great position, clear in The Nomads area.  Taking his sho,t he hit it low, but Terry McCormick saved the effort with his legs superbly to deny what may well have been a goal for Aberystwyth’s number seven.

The attacking effort from The Nomads in the second half was awarded in the 67th minute, in which Steve Evans scored a header to send The Nomads 2-1 up.  From a corner taken by Ryan Fraughan, Evans rose up to firmly head the ball to the back of the net, and give The Nomads the lead with around 20 minutes of the play off semi left.

The home side were far from down and out, and immediately looked to find the equaliser  with some intense pressure in The Nomads' last third, culminating in an effort from Mark Jones, caught by McCormick.  Moments later, Stuart Jones attempted an ambitious bicycle kick which was saved by McCormick comfortably
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Aberystwyth’s second equaliser of the day eventually came in the 84th minute, when a heavily populated Nomads area resulted in a Ross Stephens shot deflecting off Steve Evans, taking in past McCormick in The Nomads' goal, to cancel out The Nomads' lead.

Geoff Kellaway again threatened with a shot, but was denied by McCormick.  The crowd began to prepare for an extra 30 minutes as the fourth official indicated for three minutes of injury time, but it was all that the home side needed to grab the winner.

Surging down the wing, Mark Jones shot on the inside of defender Steve Evans and past McCormick to send his side 3-2 up and the home support into ecstasy. On the contrary, this was heartbreak for The Nomads who had, for a majority of the game, been in control and performed at an excellent level.

Bryn Markham Jones ended the game promptly after injury time to confirm Aberstwyth as the winners of the playoff semi final.

Although The Nomads were left disappointed, they were able to hold their heads high as they ended the season with a performance that could have easily earned them a win.

Match Photos