Teenagers shine as Nomads hit six to progress in Welsh Cup

Connah’s Quay Nomads booked their place in the FAW Welsh Cup fourth round with a 6-0 victory over Mochdre Sports at the Essity Stadium on Friday evening. 

Fourth tier outfit Mochdre kept the Nomads at Bay in the early stages, with their goalkeeper Nicholas Bould making some key saves, but Mochdre’s resistance was broken on the half-hour mark as Egyptian international Hussein Mehasseb opened the scoring from close range. 

Conor Partridge, 18, and Alfie Jones, 16, both scored their first ever senior goals for the Nomads with stunning strikes from outside the area, while Mehasseb and Jordan Hodkin also found the net in quick succession to extend the advantage midway through the second half. 

An evening of clinical finishing was wrapped up by substitute Max Woodcock, who found the bottom corner to make it 6-0 and equal our biggest ever home win under John Disney. 

Team News

Connah’s Quay Nomads manager John Disney made six changes from last weekend’s 2-0 win over Flint Town United. Captain James Jones returned from injury and 16-year-old Alfie Jones was handed his first ever senior start, while Darren Stephenson, Hussein Mehasseb, Rhys Watson and Freddie Redshaw also made their way back into the starting lineup. There was also a moment to savour for Steven Gerrard Academy U19 Scholars Ollie Rose and Lorencz Rowe-McHugh as they were named in the senior matchday squad for the first time ever. 

Mochdre boss Jason Williams made four changes from his side’s 4-0 league win over Llandudno Amateurs last Saturday. 

First Half

Hodkin and Mehasseb went close for the Nomads in the first six minutes of the contest as their powerful efforts flew narrowly over the bar. Alfie Jones was also inches away from grabbing the opener on 14 minutes as his effort from the edge of the area curled wide of the bottom corner. 

Mochdre goalkeeper Bould got down low to deny two strikes from Stephenson either side of Hodkin’s dipping volley, but the breakthrough eventually arrived with 31 minutes played as Mehasseb met Alex Hughes’ low cross and steered the ball home at the near post. 

Partridge doubled the Nomads’ lead in sublime fashion in first half stoppage time as the youngster controlled a short pass from Stephenson and sent a sweetly-struck half-volley into the net via the underside of the crossbar for his first senior goal for the club. 

Second Half

Mochdre’s only shot on target during the match came eight minutes after the restart as Lee Stokes broke down the right hand side and fired towards goal, but the shot hardly fazed Chris Renshaw, who made a comfortable save. 

Stephenson had a great chance immediately up the other end for the Nomads, but he could only drag his shot wide of the target when turning away from his marker. 

The Nomads did not have to wait much longer for their third goal though, as 16-year-old Alfie Jones joined Partridge in scoring his first goal for the club by curling a fantastic free-kick over the Mochdre wall and into the bottom corner, leaving Bould hardly any chance of the save. 

Jones turned provider just three minutes later as he played a short corner into the path of Mehasseb, whose ferocious strike took a slight deflection and found the roof of the net. Our Egyptian king now has nine goals for the Nomads across the UEFA Conference League, Novira Cymru Premier and FAW Welsh Cup this season. 

Disney’s side then made it three goals within the space of six minutes, and this time it was Mehasseb’s turn to provide an assist as he played in Hodkin, who shaped himself onto his left foot and confidently fired into the top corner for his first ever goal in the competition. 

Woodcock was brought onto the pitch in place of Adam McCoy moments before Hodkin’s finish, and the Scotsman was the final player to get on the scoresheet as he received a pass from Rhys Watson out wide, drove towards the edge of the area and placed a low curling shot into the bottom corner. Woodcock has now scored in four out of his last six games in the FAW Welsh Cup. 

There were more senior debuts handed out by Disney and his management staff towards the end of the match as teenage duo Lorencz Rowe-McHugh and Owen Cropper replaced Hughes and Renshaw. 

As the full-time whistle blew, the Nomads had six teenagers on the pitch, making this one of the youngest ever squads to win a competitive fixture. 

What’s Next? 

The Nomads will find out their FAW Welsh Cup fourth round opponents early next week, with all ties in that round scheduled for December. 

All focus will now be put onto a trip to Caernarfon Town in the Novira Cymru Premier on Friday, 20 November (7:45pm KO) as the Nomads aim to continue their impressive unbeaten run, which now sits at 10 matches. 

Match Report by Adam Angerer