Nomads by name, Europe by nature: Phase Two review 2022/23

We now move onto the next part of our 2022/23 season review which highlights all the results from our Phase Two campaign. A position in the top six was confirmed back in Phase One and now the JD Cymru Premier Championship Conference would take centre stage as a number of sides battled for a place in European competition.

Nomads would play the other five sides in the top six twice, both home and away and a rollercoaster nine consecutive games unbeaten from those ten games eventually sent Nomads on their way to qualifying for Europe for the seventh time in the club’s history.

Along with the signing of Jack Kenny in the month prior to the Phase Two start, The Nomads also secured the signature of 'The Block' Dan Roberts from Airbus and to bolster the backline as we reached the pivotal time of the season.

February
Nomads kicked Phase Two off with a JD Welsh Cup Quarter Final clash as Airbus made the trip to Deeside Stadium. Airbus, who were without a league win all season and were on the brink of relegation from the Cymru Premier had a cup upset in their sights and Neil Gibson knew his side could not get too complacent heading into this fixture. The Nomads took the lead in the 6th minute as Callum Bratley set up Jack Kenny for his first goal since his return to Deeside. Nomads looked to put the game to bed in the second half but Airbus were causing slight problems and weren’t going to go down without a fight. A key goal from Harry Franklin doubled the lead for Nomads on the hour before George Horan’s goal and a late quickfire brace from Joe Malkin secured a spot in the final four of the Welsh Cup.

So now the attention turned back to the Cymru Premier where Nomads would travel to Latham Park to take on Chris Hughes' Newtown who had a mighty task ahead of them if they were to finish in the automatic European places. Louis Robles put The Robins ahead in a feisty first half which saw four yellow cards shown by referee Iwan Griffith but Newtown were unable to hold onto their lead as Mike Wilde came to the rescue, finding the back of the net after latching onto Josh Williams’ cross. The Nomads could only settle for a point a week later against Bala after Jack Kenny’s header was cancelled out by Adam Roscrow’s free kick.

The Nomads faced Cardiff Met in the final fixture of February and it was a special day for club captain George Horan who made his landmark 500th JD Cymru Premier appearance. Horan captained the side against The Archers who thought they had salvaged a point through Lewis Rees’ long range strike which cancelled out Ben Nash’s opener but up stepped Ryan Harrington in stoppage time to win it for Nomads and boost the club’s European hopes.



March
At the beginning of March, The Nomads announced that next season’s home fixtures will be played at The Essity Stadium, Flint after a deal was agreed between both Nomads and Flint Town. The club were happy with the decision and everyone at The Nomads are looking forward to starting a new chapter in our history.

The Nomads were in action at The Essity Stadium a day later in the JD Welsh Cup Semi Final against Bala Town, the fifth time the two sides have faced each other this season. The Nomads defined the term 'dream start' after Harry Franklin netted inside 45 seconds to put Nomads ahead but two quickfire second half goals from Bala’s George Newell and Nathan Peate gave the Lakesiders the lead. Jack Kenny levelled things on the hour mark and Nomads thought they had restored their lead through Ben Nash but the referee spotted a debatable foul in the build up, leaving Nomads furious. The Nomads were left frustrated by the officials in the decisive moment in the match as Ryan Harrington appeared to be brought down in the build up towards Chris Venables’ late winner for Bala but despite protests, the goal stood and Nomads were knocked out of the Welsh Cup.

On 9th March, The Nomads were delighted to announce that the duo of veteran Aeron Edwards and youngster Josh Williams had been selected for the Cymru 'C' squad scheduled to face England 'C' in an international friendly at The J.Davidson Stadium, home of Vanarama National League side Altrincham FC.

The Nomads travelled to South Wales in the next fixture to take on Penybont in a vital top six clash. Ben Nash bagged his fifth goal of the season to send Nomads ahead but Kane Owen’s penalty meant both sides shared the spoils and the race for Europe still hung in the balance. The Nomads then earned another point at home to TNS after Andy Firth’s tremendous goalkeeping performance stopped Saints from scoring for just the second time during the 2022/23 season. Much of the focus was Saints clinching the JD Cymru Premier title but Neil Gibson and Nomads saw this as a well-earned point to hold onto second place.

The Nomads returned to winning ways in a comfortable 2-0 win over Newtown in a game which saw Danny Holmes return from his horrific injury suffered in January’s Nathaniel MG Cup Final. In the same weekend of this crucial victory, the FA Wales had released a statement confirming that our European challengers Penybont had broken a league substitute rule and were therefore charged with a six point deduction along with already relegated Airbus. Penybont took upon the opportunity to appeal the decision but if their appeal was unsuccessful, then The Nomads would all but confirm their place in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

In other club news, Gareth Richards and his U19s development side involving our Coleg Cambria Scholars successfully defended the Cymru Premier Development North title after winning 4-3 against TNS at The Quay 3G to make it back-to-back league titles, ending the campaign with a staggering 22 wins from 24 games and a goal difference of +59.



The Nomads faced Bala yet again in the final match of March with Nomads seeking revenge for both the MG Cup Final loss and Welsh Cup Semi Final loss. Nomads were rewarded with the opening goal following a bright start as John Disney’s inviting ball was nodded home by Harry Franklin. Seconds later, Bala equalised through George Newell but at the end of the first half, George Horan’s header back across goal was bizarrely turned into his own net by Nathan Burke which proved to be the decisive goal and Nomads knew just how much this three points meant following the full time celebrations from players and staff.

April
The Nomads had a European position strongly in their sights heading into the final month of the season, the club awaited a decision from FA Wales regarding Penybont’s appeal to see whether we could finally confirm our place in Europe but there was still no statement released.

Nomads knew that a win over Cardiff Met at Cyncoed Campus would send Nomads just one point away from Europe with two games remaining and also eliminate Cardiff Met from overtaking us in second place. Frankly, The Nomads swept away The Archers as Josh Williams’ cool finish and first ever Cymru Premier goal gave Nomads a deserved lead. John Disney then grabbed his second assist in consecutive games as his pinpoint cross was put on a plate for Paulo Mendes who sent an accurate header past Met goalkeeper Alex Lang. Nomads were so unlucky not to make it a third in what would have been one of the goals of the season following a sublime passage of play involving goalscorer Mendes and Joe Malkin. Mendes sprinted down the right after receiving a short pass from John Disney and then the Portuguese midfielder played a one-two with Malkin who slid it through to our first goalscorer Josh Williams but the quickfire counter attack was stopped by Alex Lang who saved Williams’ effort from close range.

The Nomads therefore looked to say farewell to Deeside Stadium in the best way possible against Penybont and with no statement announced of yet, The Nomads would need just one point against Bont to seal a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League the right way. Bont did all they could to try and hand Nomads their first defeat at home all season but Keyon Reffell squandered his golden opportunity one-on-one with Andy Firth who pulled off a great save to deny the Bont forward. The visitors did look more threatening and came extremely close to the opener through their skipper Kane Owen whose free kick from the edge of the box struck the post.

After a nervy final few minutes, The Nomads held onto the point they needed to secure European football and all players and staff celebrated following the full time whistle, wearing T-shirts showing the UEFA Conference League and the face of the gone, but never forgotten Jamie Wynne, a legend of the club who sadly passed away back in September. This was the seventh time The Nomads had qualified for Europe with the previous six times coming under legendary manager Andy Morrison but now Neil Gibson will have the honour of managing The Nomads into what we hope is going to be an incredible journey in the UEFA Europa Conference League.



The final game of the season unfortunately ended with our first defeat of Phase Two away to TNS at Park Hall as the champions showed their quality winning 4-1 with Ryan Harrington scoring an outrageous goal for Nomads. The home side ultimately had the three points safe but Harrington left spectators stunned with his epic strike. The full back received the ball on the left, skipped past three Saints defenders before unleashing a powerful shot which Saints goalkeeper Connor Roberts had no chance of keeping out, a consolation goal but a goal straight out of the top drawer.

The Nomads now await the UEFA Europa Conference League draw taking place on 20th June with the first fixture on 13th July. The Nomads will take part in a series of pre-season friendlies before heading off on our travels across the continent.

Date Published: Monday, 15th May, 2023 - 10:20am by Adam Angerer