No Luck for Nomads in Richmond Park Loss

The Nomads endured their second loss of the season on Saturday afternoon against Carmarthen Town, with one goal from Lewis Harling in the 31st minute enough to send the travelling Nomads home empty handed.

Both teams went into the game in search of their first win of the season, with The Nomads beaten 2-0 by Newtown at Deeside in their opening game of the season, likewise Carmarthen who were downed 5-1 by Airbus UK.  The want for a win was visible in both of the starting line ups, with the likes of Bassett and Mark Jones present for Carmarthen, while Ruane, Rushton and Davies lead the attack for The Nomads.

It was the home side who immediately attacked once the game was underway, yet this pressure was calmly managed by Chris Rimmer with a clearance before John Danby easily caught a free kick which sailed into his hands from around 30 yards from goal.

The first real chance of the game arose when Liam Thomas ran into the box, skipping past The Nomads' defence to shoot from only four yards out, but his effort was met by a great low save from Danby.

The attacking nature of the game continued to influence both sides when Miller was forced to make a clearance from an oncoming Carmarthen effort, which then converted into a chance for Les Davies who shot wide.

Then followed three consecutive Carmarthen corners, which The Nomads had to battle against, in the form of Chris Rimmer, who rose up in the area to finally clear the danger in what was a period of play that saw a great amount of pressure from the home side.

The Nomads replied to this with one of their best chances of the game, after a corner was awarded their way in the 20th minute, Miller’s ball was met by Ruane who put his headed effort just over the crossbar.  The Nomads again attacked when Morris laid on Miller upfront, who was tackled by a resilient Carmarthen defence.

After half an hour, the breakthrough was finally found when Lewis Harling met a ball which had been cut back across The Nomads' penalty area, giving The Old Gold man the perfect chance to hit the ball low and into the bottom right corner of the net.

The Nomads sought to get back into the game via a Ruane effort, which 'keeper Lee Idzi did well to save, going low to the right side of the goal. In the 40th minute Sean Miller had a golden opportunity to send The Nomads level when the ball fell to him on the left side of the area close to goal, but his shot went over. In spite of these late efforts to equalise, The Nomads went in trailing 1-0 at half time in a first 45 that Carmarthen had overall dominated.

The second half began and encouragement from the travelling Nomads was brought by Smith and Ruane who earned a corner for their side, however this could not be converted into a real chance. Changes were made with Rushton departing the field for Kevin McIntyre, who then did well to deny Luke Cummings in The Nomads' area, in an attack that ended with a goal kick to The Nomads.

The Nomads enjoyed a greater amount of possession in the second half which saw them play a lot of their game in the Carmarthen half, yet only a small amount of this actually threatened the Carmarthen goal.  An example was seen when Les Davies powered into the Carmarthen area and sent a square ball in front of goal, which was intercepted and cleared.

Craig Hanford then went on a run which nearly ended in a second for The Old Gold, if not for Danby saving his effort six yards from the goal line.  As the game entered the final 15 minutes, The Nomads began to step up the pace in search of a result, with Smith having his effort go wide before McIntyre sent a shot goalwards only for it to be blocked.

After another change of Miller departing for Chambers, four minutes of additional time was awarded - The Nomads continued to battle.  When Kevin McIntyre went down in the box some of The Nomads initially thought a penalty was given, yet referee Richard Harrington had awarded a free kick to the home side and proceeded to book McIntyre for simulation.  The Nomads' final chance was a corner ball, which ended prematurely when the ball went in to be caught immediately by keeper Lee Idzi.

This was the end to a frustrating game for The Nomads, as their game play had improved significantly in the second half but had rarely became dangerous in their opponent's final third. This loss away to Carmarthen was a rare occasion for many to experience, the first since 2009. 

The Nomads continue their search for their first Dafabet Welsh Premier League win of the season next week at Deeside, when Haverfordwest County FC are their guests for a 2:30pm kick off.

Match Photos