Nomads progress to play off final

The Nomads made Club history on Sunday afternoon by reaching their first ever Dafabet Welsh Premier League play-off final with a 2-0 win over Carmarthen Town.  Nick Rushton gave The Nomads an early lead scoring in the fifth minute, with Wes Baynes netting in the second half on 63 minutes.

The game was a monumental one for the Club, with a place in the play-off finalagainst Airbus up for grabs, in which the winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa League.

The Nomads started a side including Jon Rushton, who made his second consecutive appearance for The Nomads with John Danby unavailable with a thumb injury.  Also in the lineup were John Disney and Jamie Crowther, who provided cover for the suspended Callum Morris.

Making the long journey from South Wales, Mark Aizlewood’s side consisted of reputable Welsh Premier figures such as Sacha Walters, Mark Jones and Luke Cummings.

The game kicked off and Nomads took the lead in the fifth minute, when Nick Rushton took advantage of a goalkeeping error in which Lee Idzi came off his line and failed to catch Les Davies’ throw, which allowed Rushton to slot the ball in at close range.

The Nomads’ early lead allowed them to take control of the game, which saw play settled for the majority of the first half.  They could have doubled their lead in the 25th minute when from a Wes Baynes corner, Les Davies rose up in the Carmarthen box to send a header inches over the crossbar.  More pressure came from The Nomads’ Nathan Woolfe, who showed his individual skill when he beat two defenders before sending a great effort towards goal from around 15 yards, which forced Idzi into a save which deflected onto the crossbar.

With 10 minutes of the first half to play, Nomads still had a hold of the game, with their next attack an effort from Nick Rushton, which hit the side netting from eight yards after a good run down the wing.

As the half neared its end, Carmarthen made late bids for an equaliser with Mark Jones shooting from outside The Nomads’ area only for the ball to go wide and out. Kieran Lewis then sent a half-volley over The Nomads' goal in the last chance of the first half.

The second half opened quietly with The Nomads again looking comfortable with play. Paul Linwood and Les Davies tried to get onto the end of Baynes’ free kick in the 49th minute, but both missed their chance as the ball went across the face of the goal.

The Nomads then made a change with Ashley Ruane replacing Nathan Woolfe.
Carmarthen looked to have grown into the game when they won four consecutive corners near the hour mark, their presence in The Nomads’ area finally halted by a Nick Rushton clearance.

Wes Baynes then took some pressure off The Nomads when he doubled their lead on 63 minutes. From a Les Davies throw in, the ball fell to Baynes on the edge of the box, who sent his shot into the bottom right corner of the net.

Substitutions followed this goal, with Churchman replacing Nick Rushton for The Nomads and Danny Thomas coming on for Luke Cummings for the Old Gold.

The game then saw a controversial incident, when upon bringing a Carmarthen attacker down in The Nomads’ area, Danny Harrison was shown a straight red card by Bryn Markham Jones, following a penalty awarded to Carmarthen.

With around 10 minutes of normal time to play, this was a major chance for Carmarthen to get back into the game, but Liam Thomas’ spot kick was saved well by Jon Rushton to keep his clean sheet intact.

With time running out for the visitors, they launched a series of attacks in the final ten minutes, which highlighted a great performance from Jon Rushton who in return made a number of quality saves to ensure that ten-men Nomads would have no last-minute scares on their way to the play-off final.

After three minutes of injury time, the Nomads place in the final was confirmed in a landmark result for the club.

The Nomads will host Flintshire neighbours Airbus UK FC at the Deeside Stadium on Saturday 14 May for the play-off final, at a kick off time to be confirmed.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall