Ten man Nomads beaten by Bangor

Connah’s Quay Nomads succumbed to only their second home loss of 2017 with Bangor City running out 2-0 winners at Deeside Stadium on Friday evening.

First half goals from Dean Rittenburg and Steven Hewitt were followed by a red card for Nomads’ captain George Horan in a bad day at the office for The Nomads.

• Rittenburg opened the scoring in the 18th minute
• A Hewitt free kick made it 2-0 to Bangor in the 20th minute
• The Nomads go third in the JD Welsh Premier table

The Nomads came into the game full of confidence on a nine game unbeaten run, most recently drawing 1-1 with Bala at Maes Tegid.  Bangor City also arrived at Deeside looking to build on their recent good form, having been the last side to beat The Nomads in ten games.

Andy Morrison started a changed lineup seeing Sean Smith and suspended Michael Wilde replaced by full time players Jake Phillips and Melford Simpson.

The game started evenly as both sides looked to make an impression on the game. Following a fair first 15 minutes, Bangor broke the deadlock when Dean Rittenburg went clear on the Nomads’ goal from 10 yards, slotting into the bottom right corner to send Bangor 0-1 up.

Bangor utilised the momentum of their first goal to double their lead in just two minutes time, as a well taken Steven Hewitt free kick sailed straight into The Nomads’ net from 25 yards.

The Citizen’s two minute goal rush gave them a clear advantage which was boosted even moreso in the 25th minute when George Horan was shown a straight red for a challenge in the The Nomads’ area on Luke Wall.

A penalty kick was awarded for the foul, but Laurence Wilson scuppered his chance to send Bangor 0-3 up as he sent his penalty way over the crossbar.

The Nomads remained in the game, but were forced to work hard for chances in the Bangor area as the Citizens flexed their one man advantage.  The home side's bad luck continued in the 34th minute, when danger man Ryan Wignall was forced off with an injury to be replaced by Michael Bakare.

The Nomads made a substitution at half time, bringing Sean Smith on in place of Matty Owen.  The second half saw Bangor look to make up for the penalty miss with pressure on the Nomads end after the restart, but The Nomads held their shape well to restrict any real Bangor chances on the area.

In the 52nd minute John Danby made an instinctive save to stop a low Rittenburg effort at close range after a Bangor corner.  Melford Simpson was leading the line for The Nomads as he used his strength and height to get on the ball, but his headed attempts on goal were dealt with well by Bangor keeper Matthew Hall.

Michael Bakare was a good source of energy for The Nomads as he made runs down the wing, trying to set up Simpson with a diagonal cross into the Bangor area in the 62nd minute only for Hall to collect for Bangor.

As the game entered its latter stages the tempo of the game slowed, but this was not for lack of trying from either side as Bangor dug deep to keep their lead whilst Nomads sought to attack at every opportunity.

After a 74th minute Simpson strike hit the side netting from 25 yards, Jake Phillips’ sent a number of throw in’s into the Bangor area which caused serious problems for the Citizens. Despite the effective throws, the Citizens came out on top during a number of scrambles in the away area.

The final 10 minutes of the game saw the game reduced to ten versus ten, as Laurence Wilson was shown red on 85 minutes after earning a second yellow for a foul on Nathan Woolfe.

The Nomads continued to push for a salvaged result at Deeside, but it wasn’t to be their day as after three additional minutes referee Huw Jones signalled for full time.

The Nomads have only two days until their next game, as they host The New Saints in the Nathaniel MG Cup semi final on Monday 20 November for a 7:45pm kick off.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall