Nomads sunk by Lakesiders

Friday evening saw The Nomads endure a disappointing defeat at the hands of Bala Town.  Goals from Stuart Jones, Mark Jones and Lee Hunt sealed victory for the Lakesiders with Callum Morris converting a consolation penalty for The Nomads.

The Nomads had reason to be confident on the back of qualifying for the JD Welsh Cup Semi-Finals after defeating Cardiff Met 2-0 in a live S4C game.  Bala had however exited the same competition after close rivals Airbus defeated them 3-0.

The Nomads announced a strong line up, including Ashley Ruane who earned a starting position following a number of effective performances as a substitute.  He led an attacking line alongside Les Davies and Sean Miller.

The game began and it was Bala who had the first chance of the game, when Mark Connolly’s low strike from around 25 yards went wide of Danby’s goal.

When a Bala attack was ruled offside, Danby launched the subsequent free kick up into the Bala area where Callum Morris saw his effort roll wide.

The Nomads began to get into the Lakesiders’ area more and more, with Wes Baynes sending a number of long throws into the area, but the Bala defence remained resilient against the aerial threats of Davies and Horan.

On 21 minutes, Bala found the breakthrough after a superb cross from Irving found Stuart Jones, who headed the ball low into the net.

The Nomads sought to reply to this with an increase in tempo up front, led by Ruane, who at one point got in a tangle with 'keeper Morris off his line in the Bala area - Ruane passed the ball onto an oncoming Callum Morris, but he was blocked by the recovering home defence.

Despite a reasonable amount of possession, a strong defensive display from the home side meant The Nomads went in 1-0 down at the interval.

After an even opening to the second half, both sides had bursting attacks when Burke was denied by a sweeping save from Danby before Wes Baynes sent a great free kick into the area only for the Bala defence to clear.

On the hour mark, Bala increased their lead and made any chance of The Nomads taking something from Maes Tegid unlikely.  An assist from Lee Hunt cut across the floor of The Nomads’ area where Mark Jones sent the ball past both Linwood and Danby.

With a two goal lead, Bala began to control the game with all of The Nomads' attacks either ruled out or muted by a home defence which didn’t put a foot wrong, up until a penalty was awarded for handball on 78 minutes.

Callum Morris stepped up and powered the ball in to instil some hope into his side who had 12 minutes of normal time to get something from the game.

This hope however soon faded when just two minutes later as Lee Hunt broke through on goal and slotted the ball past Danby to seal a home victory.

This was testament to a Bala side who were organised, motivated and set on nothing but three points on Friday evening.

The Nomads will look to bounce back from this defeat with a big challenge against The New Saints next week, who come to Deeside for a 2:30pm kick off on Saturday 19 March.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall