10 man Nomads taste defeat at Bangor

The Nomads were defeated by two goals to one at Bangor City on Friday evening.

A Henry Jones brace sent Bangor ahead in the first half, with a Matty Owen goal in the second half ensuring the game was a tight and competitive encounter.

Both sides saw the game as vital to their overall season objectives, having both lost in the league on the previous weekend. Bangor lost 3-2 to Bala, whilst The Nomads suffered a rare home defeat to Carmarthen Town.

Bangor's revamped squad saw an attacking starting lineup including Gary Taylor-Fletcher, Dean Rittenburg and Brad Jackson. The Nomads' lineup included a landmark 350th Welsh Premier League start for George Horan and 50th Nomads appearance for Wes Baynes.

The game began and it took just three minutes for the deadlock to be broken in odd circumstances. A Bangor free kick from 25 yards was hit low by Henry Jones, and went in via a deflection from The Nomads' wall, sending John Danby helplessly in the wrong direction.

The Nomads looked to reply instantly, testing the Bangor defence when a dangerous cross into their box from Baynes was cleared. Baynes was again involved in the 10th minute when he hit an effort just over the Bangor goal with his left foot. One of The Nomads' best chances of the game came three minutes later when Tom Field rattled the crossbar from close range only to see a second strike from Matty Williams trickle just wide of the goal.

Despite putting heavy pressure on the Bangor end and having the majority of possession, The Nomads went 2-0 down in the 20th minute. A Bangor counter attack saw Henry Jones pick up the ball up just inside The Nomads' area with enough space to strike low into the bottom left of the goal.

Some of the crowd thought The Nomads had scored in the 25th minute when a Wes Baynes free kick was dropped into the net, but referee Iwan Griffith ruled it out for a foul on goalkeeper Connor Roberts.

After Bangor's second, The Nomads had again took control of possession and continued in their attempts to reduce the deficit. Wes Baynes sent a number of good crosses into the box but to no avail, with George Horan heading over in the 36th minute.

During the interval, The Nomads made one change with Callum Morris replacing Lewis Short. After the restart, The Nomads were quick off the mark, winning three corners in quick succession, the third of which saw a Wilde header go over.

The Nomads got their goal in the 59th minute, when in a packed Bangor area Matty Owen managed to strike from around eight yards to reduce the deficit. Boosted by this goal, Michael Wilde nearly equalised a minute later, having a header from a Nathan Woolfe cross saved.

To add to the away side's frustration, an equaliser was disallowed in the 66th minute when a Wes Baynes cross was headed in by a Bangor defender, however the goal ruled out for a push elsewhere in the Bangor area.

The Nomads were constantly on the attack for most of the remainder of the game, but couldn't find a clinical finish against an organised Bangor side who knew the ramifications of a home win.

A second change was made with around 20 minutes to go for The Nomads, with Danny Harrison coming on in place of Tom Field. The Nomads' night went from bad to worse however when George Horan was shown a second yellow for bringing down a Bangor midfielder on the halfway line.

This dealt a big blow to The Nomads efforts for an equaliser as they were forced to play out the last ten minutes with ten men. Sensing the momentum shifting towards them, Bangor nearly scored a third when Henry Jones missed a free header point blanc from The Nomads' goal.

A third change for Nomads saw 18-year-old Conor Harwood get his second Welsh Premier League appearance in place of Matty Williams.

Despite being down to ten men, The Nomads continued to press and appealed for a penalty when Michael Wilde was seemingly shoved under the ball by the Bangor defence, but referee Griffith waved away the claims.

After four minutes of additional time during which Bangor kept possession well, full time confirmed a disappointing and frustrating evening for The Nomads.

The result along with others elsewhere on the night saw The Nomads drop to third in the league table, three points away from Bala in second and four points above Bangor in fourth.

The next league game is not until March 3, away at Bala Town, as the side now turn their attention to a JD Welsh Cup Quarter Final clash with Prestatyn Town on February 25 for a 2:30pm kick off.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall