Nomads put four past Prestatyn in JD Welsh Premier opener

Connah’s Quay Nomads kicked off their 2017/18 JD Welsh Premier League campaign with a 4-0 victory over Prestatyn Town on Friday evening.         

• A Jay Owen goal sent Nomads ahead
• Callum Morris doubled the Nomads lead at the stroke of half time
• Goals from Michael Wilde and Matty Williams consolidated the win

The game saw The Nomads in their first competitive game since their Europa League qualification campaign where after a 1-0 first leg win over HJK Helsinki, they were eliminated via a 3-0 loss in the second leg.

The team returned to JD Welsh Premier League looking to build on a highest ever finish of 2nd in the league last season.

Andy Morrison named a starting line up including Ryan Wignall, Danny Harrison and Kai Edwards, whose brothers Noah and Zyaac started for Prestatyn Town.

The game started with a fast pace as newly promoted Prestatyn looked to make a good impression in their first game back in the JD Welsh Premier League.

In the seventh minute Matty Owen ran towards the Prestatyn end with goalkeeper Carl Jones initially dropping the ball off his line before recovering.  Wignall, who looked dangerous for The Nomads on the right wing, helped drive Nomads up the field as they began to enjoy more dominance in the Prestatyn half.

The Nomads’ pressure paid off in the 26th minute, when a cross from Wignall picked out Jay Owen, who hit the target to score from the edge of the box.

The away side were worked hard to defend their lead, seen when Danny Harrison was shown a yellow card for a big challenge in the centre circle shortly after the goal.

As the game neared half time, The Nomads were constantly in the Prestatyn area, seeing Michael Wilde go close on two occasions.

The Nomads’ second came on the stroke of half time, when after the 'keeper failed to deal with a Ryan Wignall cross, Callum Morris tapped in from close range to make it 2-0 at the interval.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first, with Prestatyn threatening to find a way back into the game winning two corners in close succession.

However, The Nomads were able to claw back the majority of possession and once again attack Prestatyn, with Callum Morris proving difficult to handle in the midfield.

The Nomads’ got their third goal of the evening when a Wignall cross, which was to be his third assist of the evening, fell to Wilde who sent a neat header into the left side of the net.

Andy Morrison’s side could have scored more, as Wignall was unlucky not to convert a cross from Michael Wilde before Jay Owen beat at least three defenders in the Prestatyn area to have his shot from eight yards saved.

The Nomads moved to make changes with Matty Owen and Ryan Wignall making way for Matty Williams and Nathan Woolfe.

The fourth and final goal of the evening came from a free kick which caused a melee in the Prestatyn area, allowed Matty Williams to fire a powerful shot into the net from around seven yards.

The result was part of a high-scoring evening in the JD Welsh Premier League with Bala Town recording a 3-0 victory over Newtown and Bangor defeating TNS 5-2.



The Nomads move onto their first home game of the season against Carmarthen Town on Saturday 19 August for a 2:30pm kick off.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall