Late double sees off Citizens

Connah’s Quay Nomads left it late to beat Bangor City in the Nathaniel MG Cup second round on Tuesday evening with goals from Michael Wilde and Callum Morris in the 89th and 92nd minutes.

The game was The Nomads’ third meeting with Bangor in just over two weeks, after floodlight failure forced them to replay a JD Welsh Premier League fixture at Nantporth, which The Nomads lost 1-0.  Despite that result, a 1-0 victory over Newtown saw Nomads come into the fixture second in the league table above third-placed Bangor on goal difference.

Both sides made changes to their line ups with full time goalkeeper Rhys Williams debuting for The Nomads and the Bakare brothers making their first full Deeside starts.  Also returning to the fold was Ian Kearney from injury and Michael Pearson from suspension.  Jake Phillips also returned from injury to start his first competitive game for The Nomads after making his debut at HJK Helsinki in the Europa League first qualifying round as a late substitute in Finland.

The game started evenly in what would become a forgettable half for both sides. The Nomads utilised Jake Phillips’ specialist throw-ins to try and break the Bangor back line, but to no avail.

Bangor, who started a much changed squad from their previous victory over The Nomads, looked to the likes of George Harry to attack, but Rhys Williams was left unchallenged at the interval.

The Nomads’ best chance of the half came when Michael Wilde headed a Nathan Woolfe cross towards the roof of the Bangor net, only for goalkeeper Matthew Hall to make a good save ensuring the game remained goalless at half time.

Both Andy Morrison and Kevin Nicholson rung the changes at the break as Callum Morris and Joe Heath were introduced in place of Danny Harrison and Ian Kearney.  But hopes of a more action packed second half were soon dashed as The Nomads and Bangor’s strong defensive organisation created a deadlock.

With an hour gone, The Nomads were forced to make another change when Nathan Woolfe pulled up with an injury and was replaced by Ryan Wignall who returned to the fold from suspension.

In the 66th minute, Michael Bakare missed a golden chance to give The Nomads the advantage, as he was unable to hit the target in front of an open goal after a scramble in the Bangor box.

Bangor endured similar misfortune upfront, with Cai Owen and Anderson Cayola failing to hit the target for the travelling Citizens.

With 10 minutes of normal time left to play, extra time looked inevitable as The Nomads and Bangor’s efforts continued to cancel each other out.

The Nomads had established themselves as the side with more possession but failed to take advantage with a number of attacks failing to produce a clinical finish. Matty Owen had a well taken free kick saved by Hall before Wignall made a darting run down the wing and sent a cross in which glided across the Bangor goal line.

Matty Owen then narrowly sent a header wide in the 86th minute from a Kai Edwards cross, and as full time drew closer almost all in the ground seemed resigned to the prospect of an additional 30 minutes of play.

However, Wilde finally found the finish that had eluded the proceedings, rising up to head a Callum Morris cross into the net on 89 minutes.

The Nomads faced three minutes of injury time to hold onto their lead, and did well to restrict Bangor before Callum Morris broke up play and ran directly at goal to slot into the bottom left of the Bangor net ending the evening’s contest.

The Nomads find out their Nathaniel MG Cup quarter final opponents at 12pm on Wednesday 4 October during the draw which will be broadcast live on the JD Welsh Premier League’s Facebook page.



Andy Morrison’s side now face a weekend off before returning to Deeside to face Champions The New Saints in the JD Welsh Premier League for a 7:45pm kick off on Tuesday 10 October.

Match Photos

Match Report by Will Catterall