Nomads triumph over Cofis in Cup

Tuesday night saw The Nomads progress to the semi finals of theWord cup following a 5-3 victory over Caernarfon Town in extra time.

The game was hotly anticipated for many reasons, one being the giant killing opponents Caernarfon Town, who had so far beaten Bangor City and Bala Town to progress to the quarter final stages.  The Nomads were also in the spotlight after parting ways with first team manager, Allan Bickerstaff.

Acting in an interim role, Jay Catton started a strong side including Baynes, Rushton and Miller, however, there was also youth in the line up with Kieran Gaul, Corey Roper and Jack Riley included in the starting eleven.

Caernarfon’s team were delayed by major traffic congestion, which delayed kick off until 8pm.  The game began late and after a couple of early efforts from The Nomads, Caernarfon turned on the heat, with pressure converting into two shots on target, which were held by The Nomads' defence and goalkeeper John Danby.

As the half went on, Caernarfon created a number of opportutnites, however The Nomads also dominated long spells of posession.  The game had an end to end feel to it, but neither side could take their chances before the half time whistle went.

It was The Nomads who started the second half brighter, with a goal coming in the 53rd minute when Rushton headed the ball past 'keeper Pritchard at close range. The Nomads then took a cautious approach in attacking the opponent's end but also defending well, until Caernarfon levelled via an own goal from a corner in the 71at minute.

Yet this score line was only  relevant for three minutes, when substitute Les Davies made an slmost instant impact, sending The Nomads ahead once again, holding the ball up on the edge of the Caernarfon area before striking low into the bottom left corner of the goal.  The visitors were far from done though, and proved it in the 78th minute when Graham Austin scored another away goal from a corner.

Despite both sides battling it out for the remaining ten minutes, the writing was on the wall for extra time and it was indeed confirmed by Mark Petch at the full time whistle.

Extra time began and The Nomads started the final 30 minutes of play in the best way possible when Callum Morris shot and scored around 15 yards from the goal with a low strike.

In the fifth minute of extra time, Nick Rushton earned his brace after Davies squared him a pass in front of the Caernarfon goal, Rushton making no mistake on the spot.  The game then settled with The Nomads boasting a two goal cushion, but they remained cautious of a tenacious Cofi outfit.

In the second half of added time came the highlight of the match, when Nomads Academy product, Tom Bibby, scored his first senior goal for the club.  Stepping up on a rebound, he calmly slotted the ball in the back of the net to open his first team account.

The goals didn’t stop there, with Caernarfon awarded a penalty in the final minute of the game, which saw Nathan Craig step up and convert, but that didn’t affect the final result.

This was a magnificent cup tie which contained all the drama expected of a quarter final, and was a testament to the work ethic of The Nomads' players and management.  They progress to their first semi final stage for four years, but now move onto Sunday’s Dafabet Welsh Premier League game against Port Talbot Town.

Following the game, Interim First Team Manager, Jay Catton said "...we prepared well for this game, we got the team right, we felt that we would nullify what their main strength's were, but the players tonight were exceptional."

You can listen to Jay's full post match interview below;

Match Photos