Williams penalty seals draw with Lakesiders

A Matty Williams penalty handed The Nomads a 1-1 draw with Bala Town on Saturday evening at Deeside Stadium.  Former Nomad, Michael Hayes sent Bala ahead after just three minutes in the game televised live on S4C.

Both teams would have wanted more from the game, coming into it with mixed form - Bala Town hoped to kick-start their season, having won one out of a possible four games in the league so far.  The Nomads meanwhile, were unbeaten, but looking to make up for a stalemate draw with Cefn Druids during the week.

The Nomads started a side including Callum Morris and Les Davies whilst Matty Williams and new signing Shelton Payne were on the bench.  A number of former Nomads were included in Bala's squad, with Mike Hayes and Connall Murtagh starting with Ryan Edwards as a substitute.

The game began and the crowd of 166 were thrown straight into the action when Hayes sent his side ahead on three minutes.  Running through The Nomads' defensive line, Hayes struck the ball in powerfully from around 12 yards to shock The Nomads, who had not conceded in 580 minutes of Dafabet Welsh Premier League football.

Going behind so early, The Nomads faced a difficult challenge in getting back into the game.  Callum Morris won a corner from which Nathan Woolfe shot wide, before John Danby was forced to head the ball out of The Nomads' area in order to avoid a backpass and stop an oncoming Michael Hayes breaking through once again.

The Nomads searched for an equaliser in the first half but with little results. Their best chance came when Michael Wilde squared a ball to Les Davies, who was set to slot the ball in just yards off the Bala goal line, but missed the assist by inches.

Despite The Nomads’ efforts, they went in 0-1 down at the interval in what had been a subdued half, leaving Bala largely comfortable in their lead.

The second half came and The Nomads set out to improve their performance, creating a chance when Field was flicked goalwards by Michael Wilde - he saw his first shot saved by Lynch and then yards out from goal he sent the rebound wide to the disbelief of many in the ground.  This was the first of a number of missed opportunities for both The Nomads and Bala.

After this chance, Lewis Short was forced off with an injury, being replaced by Sean Smith.  In the 51st minute, Deeside Stadium was shocked to see referee Lee Evans send Bala’s David Thompson off with a straight red for an apparent off the ball elbow to substitute Smith.

The Nomads' hopes for an equaliser were boosted by this, but their efforts were still not rewarded.  A Baynes cross landed perfectly to Wilde who had a shot yards from goal blocked by Murtagh.

New signing Shelton Payne then made his debut for The Nomads, replacing Jay Owen.  He was involved straight away, sending a cross into the Bala area which Wilde headed but fouled a Bala defender whilst doing so.

Former Nomad Ryan Edwards came on for Bala, and had the chance to get the probable winner for his side, receiving the ball yards out and in space inside The Nomads' area, but the ball bobbled over his foot yards from goal.  Les Davies then scored for The Nomads, but his goal was ruled out by a foul committed by Michael Wilde whilst Davies headed the ball in.

The Nomads made another change with Matty Williams coming on for Tom Field.
This substitution proved its worth just four minutes later, when Williams converted a penalty kick for The Nomads.  After Baynes was fouled by Valentine, Lee Owens pointed to the spot and gave Nomads the chance to finally get the equaliser.

This made a tense finish for the game, with both teams still very capable of scoring another goal.  This was proved when Michael Hayes broke free and looked set for his brace, but John Danby came off his line to make an excellent save with his feet.

The Nomads now had all the momentum of the game and were displaying good quality in their build up play.  Shelton Payne crossed to Michael Wilde who was practically on the Bala goal line, but he was unable to attach himself to the ball.

The Nomads' onslaught on the Bala area continued, with efforts from the likes of Woolfe and Davies sending respective headers and shots just wide.  After four minutes of injury time, The Nomads were forced to settle with their second draw of the week.

The game was a peculiar affair, in which the score line would have been much higher had the sides managed to finish their chances.  The Nomads were yet again disappointed to have drawn, but remain third in the Dafabet Welsh Premier League and are still unbeaten so far.

The Nomads' next game is away to Cardiff Met on Sunday 11 September for a 3:00pm kick off.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall