Nomads hit four to escape bottom two

On Sunday afternoon, The Nomads claimed a 4-0 victory at Port Talbot Town.  A late brace from Ashley Ruane secured the win after goals in the first half from Nick Rushton and Callum Morris.

This Dafabet Welsh Premier league fixture was deemed a six pointer, with both teams coming into the game having lost their last three league games.  The Nomads arrived at The GenQuip bottom of the table, but knew a win could send them out of the relegation zone.  The Nomads were taken charge of by Interim Manager, Jay Catton, who saw The Nomads progress to theWord cup semi finals on Tuesday evening.

The game began and The Nomads started in the best possible way when Nick Rushton netted after just one minute and 30 seconds of play - running into the Port Talbot area, he sent a low shot into the bottom left corner of the home goal from around 15 yards.

Port Talbot looked to reply with a free kick just four yards from The Nomads' area, but this effort hit the wall before a goalmouth scramble was ended by a clearance from George Horan, which initially injured The Nomads' captain, but he quickly recovered.

The Nomads' second goal then came in confusing circumstances, when during a goalmouth scramble after Steven Cann pushed a Baynes effort towards the crossbar, the ball dropped back down into the six yard box, where Callum Morris poked the ball in.

Spectators at The GenQuip thought the goal had been disallowed after the linesman waved his flag, however this was confirmed to be an indication that the goal was scored, and Callum Morris was rightfully awarded his goal by referee Dean John in the 17th minute.

In the 28th minute, Port Talbot had one of their best chances of the game when Martin Rose sent a shot just wide of The Nomads' left post.  The Nomads' Danny Harrison was then involved with a crunching tackle between himself and Joseph Jones, for which they were both booked with Jones taken off injured.

During the last few minutes of the first half Rushton looked for his second of the game with a shot going off the post before he ran clear onto goal only for Steven Cann to run out and collect the ball.  Despite these late chances, The Nomads went in leading 2-0 at half time and this was deserved of the away side who had controlled the half.

The second half started with less intensity than the first, with The Nomads once again asserting themselves as the dominant side.  Port Talbot could have found a way back into the game when March hit an effort centre in The Nomads' area towards Danby who saved well.

As the second half went on there was little sign of a change to the scoreline, so this was challenged by the introduction of Ashley Ruane in place of Nick Rushton. Les Davies found himself in a great position inside the Talbot area in the 67th minute, but his effort went over.

Sean Miller was then taken off for the final stage of the game, replacing him was Corey Roper who held himself well for the remainder of the game which involved The Nomads controlling the game against a Port Talbot side who struggled to create enough momentum to provide any genuine threat.

The game was then put to bed when a penalty was awarded to The Nomads after Ashley Ruane was denied a goalscoring opportunity by goalkeeper Cann, who in a double blow to the home side was shown a red card as a result.

Ruane then stepped up against stand in goalkeeper Hood and scored in the 81st minute, virtually ending any chance of a late home comeback.  The Nomads' number nine's work was not done there however, with Ruane getting his brace in the first minute of injury time, breaking free onto goal and going round Hood to slot the ball in centrally.

This brought to an end a great win for a Nomads side who had lifted themselves off the bottom of the table and into tenth, ending a week which had seen them earn a first league away win and progress to the semi finals of theWord cup.



Match photos courtesy of Mike Greenslade Photography

Match Photos