Rushton star of the show as Nomads hit four

On Saturday afternoon The Nomads beat Carmarthen Town by four goals to nil with Nick Rushton the star of the show hitting a hat trick.

The game was a big Dafabet Welsh Premier league talking point, as it was The Nomads' first game under the leadership of Andy Morrison, their new Director Football who was appointed to the role at the start of the week.

The game was also Jay Catton’s official debut as First Team Manager, after serving as interim for the past three Nomads fixtures.  Carmarthen Town came to Deeside looking for three points to make their long journey up worth it, with an even greater desire to break into the top six with a victory.  They started a side including Kyle Bassett and Liam Thomas, with Sacha Walters on the bench.

The Nomads, who were looking to climb up the table, had a lineup including Davies, Rushton and Miller.  The game opened quietly, with neither side creating any major chances.  Paul Linwood sent a shot towards goal from a Les Davies throw in, but the Carmarthen keeper Lee Idzi saved.  Later on in the 17th minute, Harrison found himself in space inside the Carmarthen area from a corner, but his effort was blocked.

The first major chance was converted into the game’s first goal, which was scored by Nick Rushton for The Nomads in the 24th minute.  From a great Les Davies cross, Rushton met the ball yards from goal to send a low shot into the bottom right corner of the Old Gold net.

With the confidence from their opener, The Nomads mounted another attack on the Carmarthen goalmouth, which this time led to a corner from which no home chance was achieved.  However the crowd had only 12 minutes to wait for another goal, with Rushton securing his brace in the 36th minute.  In a goal that served the recording Sgorio cameras well, Rushton struck from around 20 yards out to send the ball over Lee Idzi, who was off his line, and into the net.

Les Davies then tried to further increase The Nomads' lead before the interval with a thundering cross into the box, but no one could connect with it.  At half time, The Nomads went in with a 2-0 lead thanks to a Rushton brace, but looked to build on an all-round quality performance.

In the second half, The Nomads quickly established themselves as the team in control, with Les Davies forcing a corner straight from the off.  George Horan donned a bandage around his head from an injury in the first half, but this did not hinder his command of the team as captain.

Carmarthen had a great chance to get back into the game in the 57th minute when they were awarded a free kick just outside of The Nomads' area.  Kieran Evans stepped up, but hit the wall which deflected the shot out for a corner, which was defended with equal solidity.

Just before the hour mark Nick Rushton completed his first Welsh Premier League hat trick, making the most of a Les Davies shot which was spilled by Idzi, allowing him to slot the ball in and claim the match ball.

With a comfortable 3-0 lead, a change saw Sean Miller come off for Chris Rimmer in an effort to maintain Nomads strong defence which had so far denied Carmarthen any shots on target.  Les Davies was then drastically denied his name on the score sheet when directly on the goal line his attempt to head the ball in was cancelled out by an Idzi clearance.

Nick Rushton was then substituted for Ashley Ruane, who made an immediate impact with his first touch of the game.  From a Crowther high ball, Ruane ran into the Carmarthen area, beating Idzi off his line to head the ball in from around 15 yards.

With The Nomads well in control, their final substitution saw Sean Smith replaced by Kevin McIntyre.  The last action of the game was a chance for Morris, who in front of the opposition goal sliced his shot in a good chance to score the games fifth.

Shortly after this, Referee Iwan Griffith signalled full time and brought to an end a positive performance from Nomads, which had seen them play creative and free flowing football under the direction of Morrison, the end result a fantastic 4-0 victory.

The Nomads now move onto their next game, a Dafabet Welsh Premier fixture away to Haverfordwest County, on Saturday 14 November.

Match Photos