Wilde and Davies help secure win over Rhyl

The Nomads retained their undefeated record in the Dafabet Welsh Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Rhyl on Sunday afternoon.  Goals from Les Davies and Michael Wilde were enough to secure victory in front of a crowd of 316 at Deeside.

The Nomads went into the game off the back of a draw with Llandudno during the week, with Rhyl looking to extend a run of five games unbeaten, their most recent victory against arch-rivals Bangor City.

Whilst Rhyl named a lineup including the likes of Brewerton and Hughes, The Nomads faced difficulty in their selection due to a number of injured players in their squad.  Jay Owen and John Disney were  placed in caretaker positions as centre backs, with Les Davies up front and Nick Rushton on the right wing.

The game began and it took just 30 seconds for an incident to occur, when Aaron Simpson made a rash tackle on Tom Field for which he received a yellow card.

The Nomads looked to assert some dominance in the early stages, with Les Davies trying to flick a header onto a goal side Matty Williams, before Williams sent a Nathan Woolfe cross just over the Rhyl goal with a header in The Nomads’ first chance of the afternoon.

The visiting Rhyl side were eager to continue their good form with Carl Lamb getting in a good position to the right of The Nomads' area only to send a looping header over the goal.  Not only did The Nomads have to do battle with Rhyl but also the windy conditions which caused difficulty for both sides.

In the 15th minute, Nathan Woolfe sent a cross into the Rhyl area which Davies headed towards goal only for it to be blocked by keeper Owen Evans.

The Nomads kept up their pressure on the away goal with Nick Rushton having an effort saved, before Les Davies broke the deadlock for The Nomads in the 19th minute.

From a Nathan Woolfe cross, Les Davies struck the ball well from six yards to send it past Evans and into the bottom left corner, giving The Nomads a deserved lead.

Despite going a goal down, Rhyl remained in the game and were dangerous when on the attack, seen when Rob Hughes had an effort from 20 yards which forced Danby to save low to his left.

The Nomads were unsuccessful in their pursuit of a second goal before half time, despite having eight to nine players all in the Rhyl half at some stages of play.

Les Davies and Nick Rushton both had chances from running at the goal, with the away defence forced to clear the ball away for throw-ins and corners at various intervals.

The competitiveness of the game spilled over with an argument between John Danby and Carl Lamb at the end of the first half, with referee Bryn Markham Jones showing both players a yellow card after Lamb caught Danby late.

At the start of the second half, The Nomads were dealt a blow when John Disney was forced off with a suspected concussion following a first half clash.  Matty Owen came on as his replacement along with Rakim Newton of Rhyl who replaced Toby Jones.

As in the first half, The Nomads opened the second with most of the possession as Rhyl searched for their equaliser with Newton of Rhyl sending a cutting shot wide of goal on 49 minutes.

With the hour mark approaching, a further Rhyl substitution was made with Carl Lamb making way for Porya Ahmadi.  The game started to become more physical, with the resulting free kick from a foul on Tom Field being cleared before Les Davies headed away a Rhyl free kick taken just two yards from The Nomads’ area.

John Danby then came off his line to break down a Rhyl attack on the left wing with a sliding tackle which referee Markham-Jones deemed a foul, but not enough to bring a second yellow for the 'keeper.

The Nomads made their final substitutions at once, with the duo of Michael Wilde and Lewis Short replacing Nick Rushton and Sean Smith.  As the game entered its final 20 minutes, Rhyl began to feel time slipping away from them and forced some good chances.  Rob Hughes used his skill and pace to enter the Nomads area before being blocked by Woolfe, before Dan Collins had a cross into the box saved by Danby.

In the 74th minute, a Woolfe corner fell to Jay Owen, who played a sublime through ball to Wilde through on goal only for the pass to miss him by a yard in what would have been a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Yet Wilde made no mistake in the 82nd minute, when he headed in The Nomads’
second.  From a Wes Baynes cross, Wilde rose unchallenged to connect with the ball and send it straight into the bottom right corner of the Rhyl net.

The Nomads controlled play for the remainder the game, but in the third minute of injury time their clean sheet came under threat from a Rhyl free kick just outside their area.  Rob Hughes stepped up, but ultimately had two unsuccessful efforts from the set piece which were the last action of the day.

At the full time whistle The Nomads could reflect on a well-fought game in which they coped with a tenacious Rhyl side despite having a number of influential players injured.  The win is their third in four Dafabet Welsh Premier League games, and maintains their unbeaten record in the season so far.

The Nomads move onto their next game against Carmarthen Town in the Welsh Premier League, which kicks off on Sunday 2 October at 3:00pm at Deeside.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall