Nomads by name, Europe by nature: Phase One Review 2022/23

It’s been a season full of joy and heartbreak for The Nomads this season after securing a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League but also with painful cup defeats in Neil Gibson’s first season in charge of the club. Here we review the first phase of the season featuring matches from the JD Cymru Premier, JD Welsh Cup and the Nathaniel MG Cup.

After suffering a frustrating 18 point deduction in 2021/22, The Nomads were left fighting to stay in the Cymru Premier and although clinching the Nathaniel MG Cup in a dramatic penalty shootout against Cardiff Met, a spot in Europe was still the aim for then manager Craig Harrison.

Harrison departed The Nomads in pre-season and Neil Gibson was appointed manager following his solid spell with local rivals Flint Town. Gibson and his management team were busy in the transfer market as former Rangers goalkeeper Andy Firth, Anderson Pinto, Joe Malkin, Ryan Stratulis and returning club legend ‘Magic’ Mike Hayes all put pen to paper in the summer. Hayes wasn’t the only club icon to return to Deeside as Mike Wilde signed from Flint along with Callum Bratley, Ben Nash and Jon Rushton who all arrived just prior to Neil Gibson’s appointment.

August
The first game of the season saw The Nomads begin their defence of the Nathaniel MG Cup as The New Saints made the trip up to Deeside Stadium. Mike Wilde didn’t take long to score his first goal on his return to Nomads as in the 34th minute, he calmly finished to make it 1-0 but Saints star striker Declan McManus netted a late equaliser to send the game to a penalty shootout. Nothing would separate the two sides after the first five penalty takers and so we went to sudden death. Ben Clark’s missed penalty gave Ryan Harrington the chance to win it for Nomads and the defender made no mistake from the spot, sending Nomads into the second round and booking a date with Cymru North side Holywell Town.

The Nomads began their JD Cymru Premier campaign with a trip down to South Wales to take on Cardiff Met in extremely hot weather conditions. A frustrating afternoon saw Nomads leave with nothing, The Archers won 2-0 and Gibson knew his side would have to improve. Newly promoted Airbus then made the short trip to Deeside a week later and it was Mike Wilde’s header that proved decisive as Nomads prevailed in the local derby.

Nomads faced reigning league champions The New Saints again towards the end of the month and despite taking the lead through Mike Wilde, Saints turned things around courtesy of goals from Declan McManus and Jon Routledge. However, Nomads returned to winning ways four days later against Bala Town. An extraordinary Ryan Stratulis strike from long range was enough to edge past Colin Caton’s side who finished the game with nine men following red cards for both Antony Kay and Ollie Southern.



September
The beginning of September saw Mike Hayes make his first appearance on his return to the club and the striker made his mark in the best way possible. Hayes, along with George Horan scored the goals to seal a 2-0 win against fellow European challengers Penybont. Two weeks later, Nomads travelled to Park Avenue to face Aberystwyth. A cold Friday night saw the hosts take the lead in the second half, however Harry Arnison’s opener was quickly cancelled out by Paulo Mendes’ close range finish to set up a tense last 25 minutes. The Nomads slipped to their third defeat of the season as Jack Thorn scored a late winner to worsen Nomads’ away form.

On the 20th September, The Nomads were devastated to hear the passing of former player and coach Jamie Wynne. Jamie was a key part of our early academy years at the club including a memorable trophy lift after winning the U19s league for the first time. Wynne was remembered on the night of our Nathaniel MG Cup Second round match against Holywell Town with a minute silence and a wreath laid out by Wynne’s family and friends who were clapped out by members of the club. Over 900 fans watched on as The Nomads progressed into the quarter finals of the MG Cup as Mike Hayes scored the only goal in a game dominated by Nomads.



The end of September was a much needed run of results for Neil Gibson as his side looked to climb up the table following 3 league defeats already. Things kickstarted with a 1-0 victory over Pontypridd thanks to yet another Mike Wilde goal before The Nomads travelled to The Oval to take on Caernarfon in front of the Sgorio cameras. Both sides had a number of chances and it was Ryan Stratulis’ free kick that broke the deadlock with 20 minutes to go before Aeron Edwards sealed the three points, finishing a swift counter attack set up by Stratulis.

October
The Nomads extended their winning streak to three games to start off a month which could be considered to be one of the best during the season for Nomads. Harry Franklin’s winner against Haverfordwest ensured Nomads went into their opening match of the JD Welsh Cup in full flow. However, The Nomads suffered a huge blow to their squad as full back Kris Owens suffered another serious injury and after recently returning from his previous spell on the sidelines, this again meant the 24 year old would be out of action for some time. Nomads faced tier 3 side Denbigh in the Welsh Cup opener and weren’t going to let “the magic of the cup” affect their performance. Mike Wilde’s brace helped Nomads to a convincing 5-1 win to set up a fourth round tie with Colwyn Bay.

With a Nathaniel MG Cup Quarter Final coming up on the 18th October, Neil Gibson ensured his side were full of confidence heading into the cup clash with Cymru North side Ruthin Town as the visit of Cardiff Met in the Cymru Premier saw Ryan Stratulis set up Mike Wilde on two occasions to keep up the pressure on league leaders TNS and make it six wins on the spin. Just three days later, it was Quarter Final time and despite a very stop-start affair, it was summer signing Anderson Pinto who stole the show as his brace was enough to send Nomads through to the final four.

Nomads continued their impressive form towards the end of October which firstly began with a dramatic 1-0 win away to Penybont. Mike Hayes’ 3rd goal of the season opened the scoring for Nomads but the home side had the chance to level from the penalty spot following a dubious decision by the referee, Bont striker Nathan Wood stepped up but goalkeeping heroics from Andy Firth kept it out and in the midst of the celebrations, the referee spotted an incident involving John Disney which resulted in a red card for the versatile 30 year old, meaning he would miss the next game against Newtown. Callum Bratley stepped into midfield in place of Disney as Mike Wilde, Callum Morris and Mike Hayes were all amongst the goals as Nomads finished off October with a 3-1 win over The Robins.

November
John Disney returned to the starting eleven and marked his return with his 1st goal of the season against Pontypridd in South Wales to send Nomads on their way to an emphatic 5-0 victory to sink Andrew Stokes’ outfit. Andy Firth and The Nomads defence then kept their fifth clean sheet in six games as Nomads comfortably overcame Colwyn Bay in the JD Welsh Cup to avenge last season’s frustrating defeat in the same competition.

Up next was the test of Caernarfon at Deeside who were shining with their new loan signing Fidel O’Rourke from Liverpool’s academy. O’Rourke had a bright start which was rewarded as he put The Cofis a goal to the good at half time. The first 20 minutes of the second half were devastating for Nomads as Joe Faux and Lloyd Marsh-Hughes scored to make it 3-0, the first time Nomads had conceded three goals in a game since January 2022. The true saying "Nomads Never Die" then came into full swing as Ben Nash’s header and Joe Malkin’s double salvaged a hard earned point in tough weather conditions.



The end of November saw Nomads continue their quest to retain the Nathaniel MG Cup as Taffs Well made the long trip up north. Nomads comfortably confirmed their place in a third successive league cup final thanks to goals from Callum Bratley and Mike Wilde. The other semi final saw Bala defeat Cardiff Met meaning it would be an all-northern final in January.

December
At the start of December, the club announced the departure of summer signing Anderson Pinto whose most memorable moment came in the Nathaniel MG Cup, scoring twice against Ruthin. Pinto was unlucky with injuries and therefore made it difficult for him to break into the starting eleven.

After successfully defeating struggling rivals Airbus in the local derby, The Nomads found themselves in a great position to finish in the top six but rearranged fixtures due to extreme weather conditions meant the beginning of "crunch time" in the season. A busy set of festive fixtures left The Nomads with a scheduled four games in eleven days. Nomads comfortably beat Aberystwyth to worsen their run of results and just three days later at Deeside, George Horan’s goal had Nomads ahead against TNS for most of the second half but youngster Gwion Dafydd rescued Saints at the death to continue their push for the league title.



The Nomads extended their unbeaten streak to a staggering 17 games under Neil Gibson as the gaffer and his side secured a 2-0 win over Gibson’s former club Flint Town on Boxing Day. In the reverse fixture on New Year’s Eve, Nomads were evidently on top against their Flintshire rivals but the hosts resisted attack after attack to frustrate Nomads and eventually the game ended in a goalless draw despite Callum Morris having a goal disallowed for a questionable foul in the build up leading to the finish.

January
The final month of our Phase One campaign began with yet another two goalless draws against Both Newtown and Bala away from home which left TNS 10 points clear at the top of the table and although Nomads were unlikely to catch the runaway leaders, a position in the top six was looking very strong. The Nomads made their first signing of the January transfer window as striker Jack Kenny returned to Deeside for his second spell at the club.

The next round of the JD Welsh Cup saw Nomads travel to the home of 2010/11 cup winners Llanelli Town at Stebonheath. The Reds put up a good fight but in the end, headers from both Ben Nash and Joe Malkin as well as a penalty save from Andy Firth sent Nomads into the Quarter Finals in front of the Sgorio cameras. Later in the month, The Nomads were pleased to announce that Danny Holmes would step up to the management team as a first team coach as well as continue to play at a high standard.

A new date was proposed for our final Phase One league fixture against Haverfordwest after the game was called off due to weather conditions at Bridge Meadow and therefore Nomads were without a competitive fixture for two weeks leading up to the all important Nathaniel MG Cup Final. The final was played at The Rock, home of historic Welsh club Cefn Druids and after both sides battled for 90 minutes, the tie went to a penalty shootout following a stalemate. In the end, it was heartbreak for Nomads as Mike Wilde missed the decisive penalty, seeing Bala win the cup 4-3 on penalties. Three days later, Nomads faced Haverfordwest in the final Phase One fixture and the club suffered their first league defeat in 15 games as The Bluebirds ran out 2-1 winners.

Part two of this article will be posted in the coming days, but for those of you that have not yet seen it, you can check out Neil Gibson's season review interview below;

Date Published: Thursday, 11th May, 2023 - 8:00am by Adam Angerer