Rushton goal takes Nomads to ten unbeaten

The Nomads beat Carmarthen Town by one goal to nil on Sunday afternoon thanks to a Nick Rushton header.

Despite the game being evenly contested throughout, a 56th minute goal from Nick Rushton was enough to retain The Nomads’ unbeaten record and position of second in the Dafabet Welsh Premier League.

The Nomads came into game on the back of a good 2-0 win against Rhyl the previous Sunday, whilst Carmarthen had restricted TNS to a narrow 2-1 victory at Park Hall.  The Nomads knew three points would help them stay second in the table, but once again had to field a makeshift side owing to injuries.

John Disney and Jay Owen took up their caretaker positions as centre backs, with Matty Williams and Nick Rushton also starting.  The game also saw 16 year old academy product Connor Harwood called up to the senior squad for the first time with a place on the bench.

Referee Iwan Griffith got proceedings underway and both teams immediately went for goal.  Liam Thomas broke free for Carmarthen in the sixth minute, but John Danby made an excellent low save off his line to deny the chance. Les Davies then counter attacked, having a wicked shot from 20 yards blocked by the Old Gold defence.

Nathan Woolfe showed his individual skill yet again on the wing for Nomads, sending a cross into the Carmarthen area which Les Davies sent just wide in the eighth minute.

Carmarthen threatened at regular intervals, with Declan Carroll shooting powerfully on target from 25 yards, forcing Danby to make a solid catch on his goal line.

The teams largely cancelled each other out in the first half, with both sides attacking but unable to find a clinical finish in the face of The Nomads and Carmarthen’s respective defences who performed well all game.

The Nomads’ best chance of the half came in the 31st minute, when Matty Williams found himself through on goal, but as he tried to get closer for an angled shot keeper Lee Idzi came out to sweep and save for his side.  The likes of Williams, Woolfe and Nick Rushton all created for Nomads at the end of the first half but to no avail, with the game still goalless at half time.

The second half again saw both teams display their will for a Dafabet Welsh Premier League win, attacking each other with good movement in the midfield.  Forcing a corner, The Nomads went close when Nathan Woolfe’s delivery was cleared close to the Carmarthen goal mouth in the 52nd minute.

A double substitution followed with Matty Owen and Lewis Short introduced in place of Matty Williams and Sean Smith.  The Nomads broke the deadlock via Nick Rushton in the 56th minute.  Nathan Woolfe skilfully evaded his marker on the left wing before delivering a fantastic cross whish Rushton headed perfectly into the bottom right corner of Lee Idzi’s goal.

Boosted by Rushton’s goal, The Nomads went on the offensive, having a cross from Woolfe cleared before Rushton sent another header goalwards which was this time saved by Idzi.

Carmarthen, still very much in the contest despite The Nomads' lead, were then dealt a big blow when captain Lee Surman was shown a red card for a wreckless tackle on Les Davies.  Reduced to ten men, they brought on Daniel Sheehan in place of Declan Carroll.

Around 10 minutes after his goal, Nick Rushton’s game ended when he was substituted for Michael Wilde who helped The Nomads see the match out for its remaining 20 minutes.

The game’s physicality began to climax, with The Nomads awarded a number of free kicks owing to fouls by Carmarthen, which couldn’t be converted to a second Nomads goal making for a tense finish to the fixture.

Carmarthen were handed a golden chance to equalise in the 85th minute, when John Danby came out to punch a cross away and was caught off his line with Ceri Morgan in possession.  Despite having an open goal 20 yards away, Morgan shot wide in Carmarthen’s last real chance.

Victory was confirmed after three additional minutes during which Lewis Short and Les Davies helped hold up play in the Carmarthen half.

The 1-0 win means The Nomads are still undefeated after the first ten Dafabet Welsh Premier League games of the season, an unprecedented feat in the Club’s modern era.



The side now turn their attentions to the Nathaniel MG Cup second round, hosting last season’s finalists Denbigh Town on Wednesday evening at Deeside Stadium for a 7:45pm kick off.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall