Nomads see off Port to reach Welsh Cup third round

Connah’s Quay Nomads booked their place in the FAW Welsh Cup third round with a 4-0 victory over Porthmadog at the Essity Stadium on Friday. 

The Nomads came into this cup tie on a five-match winning streak in the Novira Cymru Premier, although John Disney’s side were kept at bay for the majority of the first half by their second tier opponents here, a close-range finish from Max Woodcock opened the scoring shortly before the break and eventually began what was a contained performance. 

Iwan Murray headed home from Alex Hughes’ cross to double our lead early in the second half before Hughes netted his first goal for the club with an emphatic strike to ultimately put the game to bed. 

Egyptian forward Hussein Mehasseb came off the bench to nod in a fourth goal in stoppage time as the Nomads made it six consecutive wins in all competitions. 

Team News

John Disney made three changes from our 2-1 league win at Briton Ferry Llansawel last weekend as Frankie Deane, Max Woodcock and Freddie Redshaw all returned to the starting lineup. 

Porthmadog manager Chris Jones made two changes from his side’s 1-0 victory at Gresford Athletic in the Novira Cymru North last weekend as Darren Thomas and Osian Ellis replaced Rhys Alun Williams and Dylan Summers-Jones. 

First Half

Harry Franklin went extremely close to the opening goal twice in quick succession as the clock ticked past just four minutes. The striker raced through on goal and was denied by a goal-line clearance before he did well to meet Murray’s delivery at the back post, only to see his effort clip the crossbar. 

Shortly after Port goalkeeper Robbie Williams made saves to deny Callum West’s deflected effort and Murray’s low drive, Franklin went close for the third time in the opening 20 minutes as he headed inches wide at the back post from Woodcock’s free-kick. 

Thomas’ low strike for the visitors trickled narrowly wide of Chris Renshaw’s near post before Hodkin’s neat flick from West’s initial effort forced Williams into another diving stop. 

The Nomads eventually found a way past Williams on the stroke of half time though, as Franklin’s header was pushed away by the goalkeeper, but straight into the path of Woodcock, who seized upon a glorious opportunity to fire home from close range and bag his second goal in as many games. 

Second Half

The Nomads made one change ahead of the restart as Somali international Abdi Sharif replaced Redshaw. Sharif’s first real action saw him lay the ball off to West, whose low drive from the edge of the area did not trouble Williams. 

However, the Nomads did not have to wait much longer for their second goal as Murray doubled the lead on 58 minutes. After almost every player moved the ball from side-to-side in an attempt to wear Port down, Hughes crossed from the byline and his pinpoint delivery was met by Murray, who headed home his fourth goal of the season. 

Hodkin and Woodcock both made way for Mehasseb and Adam McCoy, who quickly settled into the match. West probably should have added his name to the scoresheet a few minutes later when he received Franklin’s short pass, but he could only watch his first-time effort fly wide of the top corner. 

Port had a great chance to half the deficit when Rhys Alun Williams met a long ball and only had Renshaw to beat, but the Connah’s Quay goalkeeper made himself big and produced a remarkable save to keep his clean sheet intact. 

The Nomads put that mini scare behind them with two minutes of normal time remaining though, as Hughes lashed home the rebound from his first effort which was saved to open his account for his hometown club. 

Mehasseb, who scored late to give the Nomads victory over Penybont in the Novira Cymru Premier last time out at the Essity, was on the scoresheet on home turf again in stoppage time as he rose highest from Dan Cowan’s header back across goal and nodded in his seventh goal of the campaign. 

A convincing display, especially in the second half, sees the Nomads progress in the Welsh Cup, with our third round opponents to be determined in the coming day. 

Reaction

Manager John Disney praised the professionalism and fitness of his side following their sixth consecutive victory. Our full interview with Dis can be viewed here. 

Club President John Gray’s Player of the Match went to Alex Hughes, who also shared his thoughts after scoring his first goal for his hometown club. Our full interview with Hughesy can be viewed here. 

What’s Next?

The Nomads return to Novira Cymru Premier action next Saturday, 24 October as newly-promoted Llandudno visit the Essity Stadium for an earlier than usual 12:30pm kick-off. 

Tickets for this fixture can be purchased online by visiting our Fanbase link here:

https://app.fanbaseclub.com/fixture/connahs-quay-nomads/23294 

Match Report by Adam Angerer