Nomads see off Saints for Top Six finish

Saturday evening saw The Nomads hand The New Saints their first defeat of the season in what was a landmark result for the club.

The result confirms The Nomads will be competing in the Dafabet Welsh Premier League Championship Conference alongside TNS, MBi Llandudno, Bala Town, Airbus and Newtown.

The game was part of the final Welsh Premier fixture card before the annual league split, and going into the game, The Nomads sat fifth in the league despite a previous loss to Airbus, and needed at least a point to secure top six football.

With Bangor, Aberystwyth, Newtown and Carmarthen all still mathematically capable of pipping The Nomads to the top six, the game was of vital importance to the club.  The challenge was further heightened by their opposition of the champions TNS, who were undefeated in their current Welsh Premier League campaign.

The Nomads responded to the pressure on them in the best way possible, taking the lead in the fourth minute, when The Nomads were awarded a penalty from a handball - Callum Morris stepped up and made no mistake in slotting the ball to the left of Harrison’s goal.

Enthused by their lead, The Nomads continued to play a positive game, with large amounts of possession in The New Saints’ half.  Crowther had a great chance to score from eight yards after a Les Davies pass into the centre of the TNS area, but the effort was inadvertently blocked by Callum Morris.

January signing Nathan Woolfe made his debut for The Nomads, and was a constant threat on the left, seen when he had a shot blocked from around 12 yards out.  The New Saints were trailing but very much still in the game, with Aeron Edwards having a tame shot caught by Danby in the 16th minute.

After a sustained period of pressure in the Saints’ half, The Nomads were awarded with their second goal in the 28th minute. From a Nathan Woolfe corner, Les Davies rose highest in the area to head the ball in to give The Nomads a two goal lead.

In the best chance of their half, The New Saints nearly hit back in odd fashion when a cross from Spender brushed the underside of The Nomads' crossbar.

The first half ended and The Nomads went in on the back of a superb first half performance.  Yet with Bangor and Newtown winning 1-0 and Carmarthen drawing 1-1, their work was far from done as the race for top six came to the final sprint.

The second half started more evenly than the first, with The Nomads coping with a Saints side who were set on their goal.  The away side had a golden opportunity to get one back straight away, when Quigley scuffed a shot eight yards from The Nomads’ goal.

Nathan Woolfe replied for Nomads in the 47th minute, winning a corner for The Nomads which Baynes whipped just wide of the Saints’ goal.

As the half went on, The Nomads defended well against the champions, with big tackles to deter the Saints’ attacks from Miller, Baynes and Smith.  The New Saints made a change with Draper replacing Rawlinson, but this did little to change a game in which Nomads remained resilient and in control of play.

The Nomads fans were concerned when 15 minutes from full time, John Danby went down after catching a TNS effort. Fortunately the Nomads’ goalkeeper was able to see out the game.

After 70 minutes of an impressive performance, Nomads stayed composed for the remainder of the game. Les Davies used his strength and experience to hold up the ball in the oppositions’ final third, with any TNS attempt successfully blocked by the home defence.

After four minutes of added time, referee David Morgan signalled for full time and sent the Nomads players, management and fans into jubilation, achieving a place in the Championship conference for the first time in the club’s history.

Following the historic victory, Manager Andy Morrison said "I'm so pleased for the lads, I put such pressure on them since the last game to prepare right, and be ready for what was coming today, and they carried it out absolutely to the letter - John Danby's had one save in the 90th minute from a free kick which bounced before him, and so that's testament that if you do things right, you can stifle TNS."

Morrison continued "... everyone to a man gave everything and they are shattered... I'm proud as punch today and that's where Connah's Quay should be."

You can listen to Morrison's complete post-match interview below;

Match Photos