Nomads in win over Lilywhites

On Saturday afternoon, The Nomads went eighth in the Dafabet Welsh Premier League table after a 3-1 win over Rhyl.  Goals from Morris, Ruane and Rushton claimed victory for The Nomads despite Derek Taylor netting for Rhyl.

This was a game billed as a bottom of the table clash, as prior to the game 10th placed Nomads faced Rhyl in 12th.  Both sides had endured frustrating starts to the season, and were looking to the game to kick-start a turn in fortunes.

The Nomads started virtually the same team that had faced Bangor earlier in the week, the only difference being Nick Rushton in the starting line up in place of Sean Smith.  Rhyl started with former Nomads Terry McCormick and Phil Clarke, while the reputable Rob Hughes and Aaron Bowen were on the bench.

The game began with an attacking style adopted by both teams, the first chance of the game going Rhyl’s way in the second minute when Tom Donegan had a shot go wide.  Les Davies then sent a strong header goalwards to Terry McCormick who caught the ball well.

McIntyre was then forced to send a header back to the safety of John Danby’s possession, in a show of defensive solidity that was to serve The Nomads well during the game.  The Nomads also impressed in an attack when Baynes switched the ball to Davies who set up Morris for a long range effort which was caught by McCormick.

After a reasonably tame open to the game, Rushton passed to Davies in the middle of the Rhyl half, laying on Morris who struck a powerful shot into the bottom right corner of Terry McCormick’s net in the 13th minute.

Rhyl looked to reply to The Nomads' lead via John Owen, but his shot went wide of the goal after another effort was saved well by Danby.

The Nomads' strong start then continued with another goal from Ashley Ruane in the 17th minute when he nicked a ball from McCormick on the edge of the six yard box, sent an effort towards goal which was initially cleared off the line, but made sure he scored on the rebound with a simple tap in.

Another goal was still to come though, as two minutes later Rhyl finally found a way past The Nomads' defence via Derek Taylor, who ran into The Nomads' area and hit his effort to the left of Danby, slotting the ball in to reduce the deficit.

After three goals in under 20 minutes, both teams looked to tighten up at the back when McCormick stood firm at his goal to clear oncoming danger from The Nomads before Danby was forced to dive to his left in order to deny Tom Donegan.

Ruane came close to a brace when from a Wes Baynes corner, he struck an effort just over the crossbar, followed by McCormick doing well to read Les Davies and firmly stop a lob effort.

In the 35th minute Tom Donegan once again threatened, dribbling past a couple of red shirts before Linwood finally cleared.  Later on John Danby pulled off the save of the game to deny Connor Bell’s effort which was heading straight to the top right corner.

This was characteristic of the final few minutes of the first half which had seen Rhyl look more dangerous upfront.  At half time, The Nomads went in with a 2-1 lead but with a lot of work to do in order to secure victory.

The second half began and Rhyl pressed once again, and although they forced a corner nothing came of this chance as Les Davies cleared with a header. Following this, Davies was back upfront and sent in an angled shot which nearly went in off Rhyl’s own defence, but was cleared over the crossbar for a Nomads corner.

Morris was next to threaten for The Nomads, with a long range effort that looked to test McCormick but sailed over the crossbar. Although Nomads had the lead Rhyl were very much in the game, with defensive quality such as Jay Crowther’s tackle on the left wing against Taylor maintaining The Nomads' lead.

The third and final goal arrived in the 60th minute when Ruane once again pressured McCormick, and gained the ball at the edge of the area, squaring to Rushton who stepped up and drove the ball into the middle of the net.

Rhyl then had another effort saved by Danby, before The Nomads again looked to score with McIntyre laying Rushton on just by the six yard box, his effort heading straight towards McCormick who collected.

The Nomads may have had more goals on the day, when another great chance occurred when Davies sent a cross in which nearly fell to Rushton who was blocked by the Lilywhites defence.  Rhyl came close through Connor Bell who again tested Danby, but there was no mistake from the Nomads goalkeeper during a great individual performance.

Rhyl made introductions of Rob Hughes and Aaron Bowen, yet by this point Nomads had a great hold of the game which the new faces did little to disrupt. The final ten minutes came and although both sides had efforts via the likes of Ruane and Donegan, there was little action which truly looked to alter the score line.

Substitutions saw Roper replace Morris and Ruane depart for Miller who played for the first time after gaining an injury against Bala two weeks ago. After three minutes of added time, referee Lee Evans blew his whistle to confirm a great win for The Nomads.

This was by far one of the best performances from The Nomads in the league so far this season, which a confident team standing strong against a keen Rhyl outfit.

They now move onto theWord Cup, with a game against Prestatyn Town at Bastion Gardens on Tuesday night with a 7:30pm kick off.

Match Photos