Nomads claim first win in battle with BlueBirds

The Nomads took their first three points of the 2015/16 Dafabet Welsh Premier League season on Saturday afternoon, with goals from Les Davies and Ashley Ruane in the 11th and 41st minute enough to seal the win, despite Jack Christopher’s goal for Haverfordwest in the 55th.

This was a fixture between the bottom two teams in the league table, owing to the fact neither side had yet claimed a victory in their first two games.  Haverfordwest County had fallen to defeats by TNS and Newtown, whilst The Nomads were also beaten by Newtown at the start of the season and Carmarthen a week earlier.  The sides felt further pressure due to the fact neither had scored a goal in their previous two games, which was to be clear in a game full of fierce attacking play.
Both teams named strong sides with Haverfordwest starting Christopher, Follows and Pemberton, whilst The Nomads' squad included a start for latest signing Wes Baynes and an inclusion on the bench for Corey Roper and Callum Terrell.

The game began with The Nomads eager to attack, seen when Les Davies went on a run up-field only to be intercepted by a defender for the away side.  The Nomads tried again with Rushton leading an attack with a least five of his teammates supporting, but a Haverfordwest defence of the likes of Batley and Pemberton held firm.

The breakthrough was however found when the power of Les Davies entered the Haverfordwest area from the left wing, allowing The Nomads' number 10 to strike a low ball into the bottom right corner of the net, ending a collective 191 minute wait for the Nomads first goal of the season.

This goal seemed to elevate The Nomads' play, with the following period seeing a dominant display from the home side. Ashley Ruane held the ball up well in the Bluebird’s final third before Wes Baynes sent a great delivery – his first of many during the game – to Ruane who was intercepted before he could get his shot away in the 18th minute.

Soon after, Rushton squared a ball to Morris who was running onto the pass, yet he could not reach the ball in time in what was a great chance to double The Nomads' lead.

In the 26th minute, Sean Miller displayed one of the many reasons why he is the Welsh Premier League Young Player of the Year with an interception run towards goal during which he cut the ball parallel to the County goal line, with Morris unable to connect to the pass.

The game had an end to end feel to it from the start, as following Morris’s chance Jack Christopher went in front of goal in the 27th minute, but before he could put it away Horan slid in with a perfectly timed tackle.

Wes Baynes carried on his great debut with a run deep into the Haverfordwest half which challenged the opposition, but ultimately ended in a goal kick before Miller was again blocked on a run by the Bluebirds defensive line.

The game’s competitive edge began to influence the players with tackles flying in all over the field, one of which George Horan earned a yellow card for. The first half finally settled after Ashley Ruane found the net in the 41st minute, slotting the ball in easily from 5 yards thanks to some great work from Baynes, delivering the ball to Rushton who was in the area to provide the assist.

In the second half, it was Haverfordwest who got off the mark quickest with the addition of Kieran Koward and John Roberts who replaced Declan Carroll and Greg Walters at half time. They also threatened via Ryan Batley’s long throws which reached The Nomads area without fail, but were collected in the early stages of the second half.

County’s perseverance in front of goal did however pay off minutes later, when Jack Christopher rose high inside a busy Nomads box to beat Danby on the left post and bring his side right back into the game.

The Nomads looked to make an immediate reply via Ruane who had an effort blocked, before Sean Smith went on a great run, his resulting delivery going out of play for a goal kick to County. Miller continued to enjoy a great individual performance when his run forced a corner, which was taken by Baynes but saved by Bluebirds goalkeeper Scott James.

As the game went on the pace of play only grew faster, with Nomads making the introduction of Kieran Gaul for Nick Rushton in a bid to steady play and secure their lead. Davies took a throw deep in the Haverfordwest half which was met by Miller who laid on Ruane, but the Nomads goalscorer was unable to convert the chance into his second of the game.

Just before the final 10 minutes of the game, both sides made changes with Liam Hutchinson replacing Christopher and Chris Rimmer coming on in place of Ruane. Rimmer was an inclusion which aimed to fortify the Nomads defence at the end of the game, and it did just that with the Bluebirds unable to break through the Nomads back four.

Likewise, The Nomads could not get their third of the game despite a number of good opportunities to do so late on, with Miller laying on Baynes in the Haverfordwest area only for The Nomads' latest signing to dribble past his marker but have the shot blocked.

The last real chance for Nomads came within the 3 minutes of injury time at the end of the 90 minutes, when Les Davies was centre in front of the Haverfordwest goal with two defenders chasing, but sent his shot straight towards James who saved.

The Nomads fans hearts were perhaps in their mouths when Haverfordwest once again pressed forward, but the offside flag signalled an end to their chance and the subsequent free kick by Danby an end to the game.

The Nomads were worked hard to earn their first three points of the season, but could be proud of a performance which was a vast improvement on their last two Welsh Premier fixtures. They now move onto Guilsfield for cup action on Tuesday night, when they travel to the Huws Gray Alliance side in the first round of theWord Cup.

Match Photos