Davies header seals victory for Nomads

Saturday evening saw The Nomads beat Bala Town by two goals to one in their third consecutive Dafabet Welsh Premier League win.  Goals from Jay Crowther and Les Davies were enough to win the game despite an initial equaliser from Lee Hunt.

In front of live S4C Sgorio live cameras, this was a highly anticipated game which saw the seventh placed Nomads face second placed Bala Town.  The Nomads knew a win could send them back into the top six, with The Lakesiders hoping to further cement their position at the top end of the table.

The game began quietly, with the first chance real chance a George Horan header which went wide of the Bala goal, assisted by a cross from Miller in the 12th minute.

Ryan Valentine then hit the crossbar after Bala were awarded a free kick from 30 yards out. Valentine was to come close from set pieces a number of times during the game.

The opening goal came in the 19th minute, when after a Les Davies shot couldn’t be held by Morris in goal, Jamie Crowther stepped up and slotted the ball in from four yards - Crowther celebrated knowing this was his first Dafabet Welsh Premier goal of the season.

With confidence from their lead, Davies then ran into the Bala box and sent a pile-driver effort wide of the left post.

The game grew into an attacking affair as the half went on, with Davies sending Miller clear on goal with a great pass only for Morris to save.  Moments later, Morris again denied Rushton from seven yards and would continue to make a number of impressive stops throughout the game.

In the second half, Valentine again had a go at goal from the free kick but his effort went wide.  Bala eventually found the net in the 54th minute, when from a corner Artell knocked the ball onto Hunt who made no mistake in heading the ball in at close range.

In a reply to the equaliser, The Nomads forced a corner but Horan’s header from the kick was well caught by Morris.  Nick Rushton ran through the Bala defence to get a clear shot on goal, but his end product was tame and easily handled by the goalkeeper.

Substitutions were then made which saw Callum Morris and Sean Miller replaced by Kevin McIntyre and Ashley Ruane.  The Nomads nearly scored in odd circumstances when a kick from Ashley Morris ricocheted off the back of Rushton and went towards goal, hitting the crossbar and bouncing off the Bala goal line.

As the half went on, The Nomads began to attack with more and more ferocity.
Davies sent an acrobatic shot towards goal which wents inches wide, before McIntyre had an on target attempt deflected wide.

From the resulting corner, The Nomads then scored from a Les Davies header.  After a threat from a Nomads corner, the ball wwas half cleared, only for Jay Crowther to return the ball into the Bala area, allowing Davies to surge into the box and head to score, a goal which he deserved for a tremendous show of work ethic during the game.

The Nomads were then tasked with retaining their lead until the full time whistle, which they did superbly with an equal amount of attacking and defensive play.

After Chris Rimmer replaced Nick Rushton for The Nomads, Bala nearly scored at the death when an effort from Stephens deflected off the bar, but after three minutes of injury time the three points were staying at Deeside.

This was a highly entertaining game which was a great advert for the Dafabet Welsh Premier League in front of live S4C Sgorio cameras.  The result means that The Nomads have now won three consecutive league games and conceded only once.

Their next challenge is an away game versus Llandudno, kicking off at 2:30pm on Saturday 28 November.

Match Photos