Aber smash and grab at Deeside

The Nomads lost out to Aberystwyth Town by two goals to one on Saturday afternoon, as goals from Stuart Jones and Chris Venables denied Nomads a home victory following Les Davies' opener.

The Nomads came into the game after recent losses to TNS and Bangor City, hoping to turn their fortunes around in preparation for Tuesday’s theWord cup quarter final against Caernarfon Town.  Both Chris Rimmer and Sean Smith started along with Sean Miller, who made his first appearance in the starting 11 since sustaining an injury a few weeks back.

Aberystwyth, who had drawn with The Nomads, thanks to a last minute equaliser at Park Avenue just two weeks before, started a similarly strong lineup consisting of the likes of Venables and Griffiths.  Whilst The Nomads sought to leave the relegation zone with three points, Aberystwyth knew a win would send them to the top three of the Dafabet Welsh Premier League.

The game was also of importance for both sides, showing their support of the red card wales campaign, with both sides’ players warming up in shirts brandishing the organisation’s mission to show racism the red card in Wales.

The game began and the first half-chance fell to The Nomads via a Les Davies shot from 20 yards out, which went straight to keeper Mike Lewis who saved well. Wes Baynes then sent a cross into the Aber area, but Sean Miller’s header couldn’t connect with the goal.

After an opening ten minutes which saw both teams grow into the game with no major incidents, Chris Venables enjoyed one of Aberystwyth’s best chances of the half, heading towards the Nomads goal from a corner for Danby to save.

The Nomads looked to reply via Chris Rimmer who pressed forward from his defensive position briefly, only to be beaten to the ball in the Aberystwyth area by defender Lee Surman.

The Nomads continued to attack after the 20 minute mark, in what was a phase of persistent offensive play from the home side which saw them earn five corners in quick succession.

It was on the fifth corner that The Nomads managed to convert their chance, with Les Davies finding himself unmarked in the six yard box to forcibly drive a Wes Baynes corner past Mike Lewis to score in the 30th minute.

Yet this lead was only held for 12 minutes, when Stuart Jones equalised, heading home from a Craig Williams free kick around 25 yards from The Nomads' goal in the 42nd minute.  This was a goal that The Nomads were disappointed to concede on the eve of half time after a strong display, yet the 1-1 scoreline was deserved of both sides at the interval.

In the second half, The Nomads again went on the attack, earning a corner via Davies who had a pass to Miller cleared out.  Miller then went on an individual run of his own, but was caught offside.

Despite Rushton then having a chance, it was in fact Sion James of Aberystwyth who came close to scoring for The Nomads when a clearance from inside his area hit Mike Lewis’s crossbar in a near own goal situation.

Surviving that scare, substitute Darren Thomas, who had replaced Rhys Griffiths, went on a run skipping past three Nomads' defenders in the home area only for his effort to be blocked by Danny Harrison.  Sean Miller then replied with a shot on the edge of the Aber area which was saved by Lewis.

Just like they had in the first half, The Nomads continued to press Aberystwyth with efforts from Linwood, Miller and Baynes all doing little to challenge Mike Lewis in goal.

The Nomads rued these chances in the 73rd minute, when after Chris Rimmer misjudged a ball in his own half, Jamie Reed was allowed to run towards goal before squaring to Chris Venables, who slotted the ball in at close range.

Bringing on Corey Roper in place of Jamie Crowther, The Nomads went again towards goal in the hope of salvaging a result from the game.  Sean Smith went on a run upfield but was brought down before he could get near the penalty area.

Ashley Ruane then came on in place of Nick Rushton, but his pace could do nothing against a solidified Aberystwyth defence in the final few minutes of the match. After four additional minutes of injury time, referee Tom Williams blew his whistle to confirm a home defeat for The Nomads.

This was a disappointing game for The Nomads, who had played well for large parts of the game but had been unable to convert their efforts into a good result.

Following the game, Manager Allan Bickerstaff gave his thoughts to Sgorio - you can listen to the full interview below.



The team now look ahead to a chance to put the result behind them in their next game, theWord cup quarter final versus Caernarfon Town on Tuesday 20th October at Deeside Stadium.

Match Photos