Top four place guaranteed with derby victory

The Nomads guaranteed themselves a minimum finish of fourth place in the Dafabet Welsh Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Airbus UK on Friday evening.

A brace from Nick Rushton in the first half sent The Nomads ahead, with an Ian Kearney goal from Airbus in the second half making for a dramatic derby at Deeside.

Both sides came into the game having participated in the JD Welsh Cup Semi-Finals last week, but with differing results.  Airbus entered their first ever Welsh Cup Final with a 7-0 thrashing of Port Talbot Town, whilst The Nomads felt the full force of The New Saints in the following Semi-Final where they lost 5-0.

Andy Morrison asked for a response from his side before the game, starting a lineup including Chris Rimmer and John Disney.  Airbus fielded a much changed side which saw prominent goal scorers Ryan Wignall and Tony Gray on the sidelines.

A lively start to the game saw The Nomads enjoy a good amount of possession, which took only five minutes to convert into a goal.  Les Davies sent a long throw into the box, as he would do on numerous occasions throughout the game, and Nick Rushton latched onto the ball to score with a low header from six yards out.

Boosted by the goal, The Nomads continued to attack the Airbus end, earning a free kick in a dangerous position around 25 yards from the Airbus goal, only for Wes Baynes’ kick to hit the wall.

Airbus too created chances, but few shots on goal in the first half, with The  Nomads’ defence managing the threat of Blake, Budrys and Mendes well.

Nick Rushton then secured his brace, and unbeknown to him the match winner.  On 24 minutes after another Les Davies throw fell to him on the left side of the Airbus goal where he hit a sliding effort into the left corner of the goal.

Airbus looked to respond to a poor start to their derby, and nearly scored when Liam Blake had a shot just yards from goal cleared by The Nomads’ skipper George Horan.

On 34 minutes, The Nomads were handed the chance to go three goals up when a Baynes corner was headed towards goal by Paul Linwood, and went inches above the crossbar.

Just before half time, The Nomads suffered a shaky moment when, after a defensive punch, goalkeeper Danby found himself exposed off his line.  Chris Budrys hit his shot over Danby, but also over the goal to maintain The Nomads’ 2-0 lead at the interval.

The second half again started with a high tempo, which saw early half-chances for Les Davies and John Disney.  Nick Rushton ran down the wing in the 55th minute and laid the ball perfectly towards Callum Morris in the Airbus area, but his effort rolled just wide.

With rain beginning to fall fast on Deeside, tackles became bigger, which saw players from both sides go down with injuries. Wes Baynes was forced to leave the field with Sean Miller replacing him, whilst Ryan Wade came on for Mendes of Airbus.

After a stronger performance in the second half, Airbus finally found the goal in the 71st minute via Ian Kearney.  From a free kick around 25 yards out, Kearney slotted the ball at close range bringing Airbus back into the game and creating a tense atmosphere for the final 20 minutes.

Airbus now looked the stronger side in the game, with Blake tipping a shot just over Danby’s goal minutes after Kearney’s breakthrough.  Man of the match Nick Rushton left the field on 78 minutes with Ashley Ruane coming on to help The Nomads see the game out.

The Nomads did well to mute Airbus for the remainder of normal time, but the visitors were handed an extra chance of an equaliser with five minutes of additional time given.

For three of those minutes, Airbus were almost entirely in The Nomads’
half with two corners allowing them to keep possession, but The Nomads' back line stood strong against their surmounting pressure.

Full time was signalled and The Nomads could celebrate their second phase two win over Airbus, as well as their guaranteed minimum finish of fourth place.

Elsewhere a last minute 3-2 win for Llandudno meant the race for third place continues in the Dafabet Welsh Premier League.  The Nomads now look ahead to their next challenge away at Newtown AFC on Saturday 16 April.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall