Nomads held in deadlock with Cardiff Met

The Nomads were held to a 0-0 draw with Cardiff Met on Sunday afternoon. Despite a game of dramatic moments and major goalscoring opportunities, the spoils were shared between the two teams.

Cardiff Met came into the game with spirits high after a 5-0 defeat of Cefn Druids, whilst The Nomads had previously drawn to Bangor in a tight 2-2 game.

Cardiff Met announced a lineup consisting of key players such as Adam Roscrow and Jordan Lam, whilst The Nomads brought Wes Baynes back into the starting lineup with Chris Rimmer on the bench working his way back from injury.

The game began and Cardiff Met established themselves quickly, with Jordan Lam forcing a corner for the visitors before Ben Bowler sent a curling effort just over from 20 yards.  A defensive mix up in the seventh minute gave Lam the opportunity to send the ball across the face of the Nomads goal line, where The Nomads were fortunate not to concede a goal.

The Nomads then threatened the Cardiff Met end, which Nathan Woolfe striking wide at the right post from 10 yards with Les Davies just missing a deft cross from Woolfe in the 16th minute yards from the Met goal.

As the half went on, both teams continued to match each other, with Cardiff Met using their exceptional fitness levels to threaten The Nomads on the counter, whilst The Nomads were trying to break down the visitors' defence to get clear on goal.

Les Davies did get the ball in the back of the net from a header, but the goal was disallowed in contentious circumstances with the claim that John Disney had been blocking Cardiff Met’s goalkeeper Will Fuller.

After a hard fought first half, both teams went in at half time satisfied with the score line, but knew the three points were there for the taking.

The second half saw early changes rung with Matty Owen replacing Nathan Woolfe.  Les Davies received the ball inside the Met area from a Williams pass, but was unable to get a shot away in a tangle with a Met defender.

Matty Owen was one of a number of Nomads players to have an unsuccessful strike, with his 20 yard effort going wide of the Cardiff Met goal.

Cardiff Met were handed a brilliant opportunity to score when Danny Harrison lost the ball in his own half, with Adam Roscrow running towards goal unchallenged only for his shot to go wide of John Danby’s left post.

The Nomads then introduced Michael Wilde in place of Tom Field with around thirty minutes to play, and Wilde had an immediate impact latching onto a long ball only for Met goalkeeper Fuller to sweep and save.

In one of The Nomads’ best chances of the game in the 63rd minute, Michael Wilde thought he had scored during a goalmouth scramble, but the ball was cleared by Met’s Emlyn Lewis on the line and the game remained goalless with the Deeside atmosphere growing tense.

In the game’s closing stages, both teams pushed hard for a winning goal making for a great finish to the spectacle.  The Nomads would again lose possession in their own half in the 84th minute, allowing Met substitute Jon Littlemore to make a run into The Nomads' area on his own, only for Jay Owen to make a vital tackle to halt the attack.

Shelton Payne who had came on for Nick Rushton saw a golden chance to win the game missed when Matty Williams laid him on yards from the Met goal only for his low effort to go wide from yards out.

Both teams continued to try and unlock each other for the remaining game time including four additional minutes, but the game ended 0-0 in what was both a hard fought point and frustrating result for The Nomads.

The Nomads will return to Deeside on Tuesday evening, when they play Rhyl in the Nathaniel MG Cup quarter finals for a 7:45pm kick off.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall