West and Franklin on target as Nomads win at Ammanford

Connah's Quay Nomads secured their third straight Novira Cymru Premier victory with a hard-fought 2-0 win away to Ammanford on Saturday. 

The match was a great occasion for many reasons as not only were the BBC Sport cameras in attendance for their live broadcast, but this was also the first time in Nomads and Ammanford have ever faced each other. 

Ammanford remained strong in defence for the majority of the first half, but Hussein Mehasseb won the Nomads a penalty late in the half, which Callum West calmly converted to score his first goal of the season and find a crucial breakthrough. 

Harry Franklin was denied by the crossbar and Ammanford goalkeeper Luke Martin made some standout saves, but the Nomads eventually found their second goal late on as Franklin rounded Martin and tapped home to seal another impressive victory for John Disney's side. 

Team News

John Disney made two changes from his side that stormed to a 6-0 win over Trefelin last weekend as teenagers Freddie Redshaw and Conor Partridge returned to the starting lineup. Captain James Jones continued to play alongside last Friday’s hat-trick hero Joe Simatupang-Ferguson, while Iwan Murray and Jack Waterhouse returned to the bench. 

Ammanford manager Wyn Thomas made two changes to his side’s 2-0 defeat away to Airbus UK Broughton last time out as Joe Hopkins and Harri Rowe replaced Elliot Scotcher and first-choice captain Adam Orme, whose absence meant Callum Thomas wore the armband. 

First Half

Ammanford thought they should have been awarded a penalty after just five minutes played as Thomas’ shot across goal struck Simatupang-Ferguson, leading to a VAR check for potential handball. However, the on-field decision of no penalty stood and play continued. 

Both sides were lively when pushing forward and had a slight opportunity each as Max Woodcock sent a looping header onto the roof of the net before Ammanford’s Adam John tried his luck from distance, but could only watch his effort fly past Chris Renshaw’s near post. 

The Nomads nearly took the lead in the 18th minute as Jones rose at the back post and knocked the ball down for Mehasseb, whose shot on goal inside the six-yard box was cleared off the line by Matt Delaney. 

Woodcock and Mikey Stone both had efforts saved and blocked respectively, but the Nomads were eventually rewarded for their pressure as Babucar Sauane’s foul on Mehasseb inside the area resulted in a penalty. West stepped up from the spot and made no mistake as he rolled the ball into the bottom corner for his first goal of the season, sending Luke Martin the wrong way in the process. 

Second Half

The Nomads were agonisingly denied by the crossbar nine minutes after the restart as Stone fed the ball through to Franklin, whose first-time strike looked destined to find the top corner, but instead bounced down off the bar. 

Abdi Sharif, Iwan Murray and Darren Stephenson were all introduced off the bench moments later as the trio replaced Mehasseb, Alex Hughes and Freddie Redshaw. 

Martin continued to keep the Nomads at bay with some fine saves as we entered the midway stage of the second half. The Ammanford goalkeeper caught Stone’s dipping effort before he managed to tip Murray’s powerful shot from the edge of the area over the bar. 

Stephenson had a glorious chance to bag his first Connah’s Quay goal with 15 minutes remaining as Franklin produced some neat work down the byline and delivered a low cross into the Jamaican, who fired wide from inside the six-yard box. 

However, Franklin ensured the Nomads headed back to North Wales with all three points as he ran onto Woodcock’s accurate long pass, rounded Martin and kept pace with Seth Woodhouse to tap the ball over the line and make it a third consecutive weekend with his name on the scoresheet. 

What’s Next?

The Nomads will be searching for a fourth consecutive Novira Cymru Premier win on Friday, 28 August as John Disney’s side begin their busy bank holiday weekend with a home fixture against Cambrian United at the Essity Stadium (7:45pm KO). 

Purchase your tickets via our fanbase link here to begin your bank holiday weekend with some quality affordable football, perfect for any local supporters, groundhoppers and families. 

Match Report by Adam Angerer