Lone Woolfe strike sees off Wingmakers

The Nomads claimed victory over their Flintshire rivals Airbus with a 1-0 win on Saturday evening.  Nathan Woolfe’s debut goal for the club was enough to ensure a vital three points for the Deeside-based club.

The game was one of big proportions for a number of reasons.  After losing out to MBi Llandudno a week before, The Nomads were eager to get back to winning ways.

Following a 1-1 with draw with Newtown earlier in the day, third placed Llandudno were above Airbus and The Nomads by seven and nine points respectively.  This result meant that both sides could realistically not afford to lose in order to stay in the race for the top three.

Live S4C cameras were broadcasting the game, after the decision was made to move the TV fixture from Bala with severe rain forecast.

The game began and the two sides were soon battling in the midfield to no avail, as they both went against solid defensive set ups.

On 12 minutes, The Nomads did however manage to slip through the home defence with Nathan Woolfe getting in a great position around 10 yards from goal, sending a half-volley into the bottom right corner of the net, as a John Danby free kick wasn't cleared.

From then on, the first half became difficult, not only due to the opposition but a strong wind which persisted for the remainder of the half.

A goal behind and at home, Airbus soon began to turn the heat on The Nomads.
Kevin Monteiro made a great run and nearly reached the penalty area if not for a Smith tackle.

The Wingmakers then enjoyed a flurry of corners, from which, there were some frantic scrambles in the box which they couldn’t capitalise on.

Airbus’ best chance of the first came from a Barrow free kick on 36 minutes, when he weighted a free kick perfectly below The Nomads’ crossbar, but Danby was on hand to make a great save pushing it onto the bar and over for a corner.

This save was one of many game-winning moments Danby was involved in over the course of the match.

The Nomads coped well with the pressure from Airbus, but were tested to their limits with the wind against them and the Wingmakers attacking ferociously for the last five minutes of the first half.

Despite winning five corners in the last five minutes of the first half - including a James Murphy effort which curled against the crossbar, Airbus could not get past Danby and went in trailing The Nomads at the interval.

When play resumed, Airbus played most of their football in The Nomads’
half.  The wind had dropped from the first half, and gave spectators the chance to see some real football being played.

Monteiro continued to be tricky, but Sgorio's Man of the Match, Paul Linwood made a vital clearance on 48 minutes when the Airbus man got just yards from goal.  Parry then left the field, replaced by Rimmer who added solidity to The Nomads' defence during an onslaught of threats from Airbus.

The Nomads were then unlucky to go 0-2 when Wes Baynes’ free kick from 20 yards hit the crossbar, which was the first of two times that The Nomads would hit the woodwork that evening.

The Nomads made another substitution with Ashley Ruane introduced in place of Jamie Crowther, who despite not playing a full game had made a great contribution for the 70 minutes he had been involved in.

The Wingmakers continued to test The Nomads but were unsuccessful with just
10 minutes to go, which made for a tense and dramatic close to the game.

Airbus spectators and players alike were rueing a chance in the 84th minute, when a cross rolled across The Nomads' goalmouth for no one to send the ball towards the goal, in a likely moment for the equaliser.

Danby then made another great save to deny Mendes, as Airbus began their last ditch movements to try and salvage something from the game.

Airbus had a great opportunity with just two minutes of normal time to play, when a free kick was awarded just outside The Nomads’ penalty area.  The kick went low, where it was blocked by The Nomads’ wall.

With four minutes of additional time to be given, The Nomads had to simply continue to deny Airbus for the remainder of the game.

Yet, Ashley Ruane made a great solo run towards the Airbus goal, where he sent a powerful left-footed shot which rattled the left post, denying him a goal to end the game.

Despite this, The Nomads held the ball well for the games’ final moments and celebrated a hard earned victory at full time in a live game which was a great advert for the league.

The result sends them to fourth place in the Dafabet Welsh Premier League, readying them for an important fixture at home to Newtown next Saturday
27 February.

Match Report by Will Catterall