Hughes brace and Ratcliffe heroics inspires derby day victory

Connah’s Quay Nomads secured their third straight win and clean sheet in the JD Cymru Premier with a 4-0 victory over Flint Town United in the Flintshire derby at the Essity Stadium on Tuesday evening.

After some heroic saves from George Ratcliffe kept the scoreline goalless, a moment of brilliance from Rhys Hughes opened the scoring as the attacker chipped Jack Flint from outside the area.

A first Nomads goal for Max Woodcock, a calmly converted Hughes penalty and a composed finish from Sam Durrant added to the goalscoring fun as The Nomads maintained pressure on Barry Town United in the race for seventh-place in the Play-Off Conference.

Team News
There was a milestone appearance for Kai Edwards, who returned from suspension to make his 350th start in the JD Cymru Premier. Jack Kenny also returned to the starting lineup as Sam Durrant and Chris Marriott were named on the bench.

Flint Town manager Lee Fowler made just one change from his side’s 2-2 draw with Newtown last time out as Izaack Lambert replaced Ben Collins.

First Half
The Nomads had the first major change of the contest as Kris Owens made a darting run in behind the Flint defence, allowing him to lay the ball off to Jack Kenny, who had his eventual strike blocked from close range.

George Ratcliffe then produced a spell of goalkeeper heroics to deny Flint the opening goal. The goalkeeper managed to tip away Josh Jones’ deflected cross at full stretch, before Elliott Reeves’ deflected effort from close range was denied by the post.

Ratcliffe denied Jones again, this time winning a one-on-one battle against the Flint forward. The Silkmen pushed upfield again as Reeves tried his luck from distance, only for Ratcliffe to be there again to make the stop.

Flint were no doubt impressive in the final third, but it was the Nomads who took the lead courtesy of Rhys Hughes as the former Cymru U21 international spotted Jack Flint slightly off his line and was able to chip the goalkeeper from outside the box.

The Nomads then doubled their advantage seven minutes before the break as Max Woodcock opened his account for the club. A pinpoint long ball from Olly Wright saw Woodcock rise highest above Izaack Lambert, which allowed him to send a looping header over Jack Flint to make it two.

Ratcliffe capped off an astonishing first half performance between the sticks with arguably his best save of the night as he somehow managed to react quickly and keep out Reeves’ powerful shot from point-blank range.

Second Half
Jake Phillips nearly squeezed the ball through to Reeves, who would have been left with an easy tap in early in the second half, but a crucial interception at the last second from Declan Poole brought the attack to an end.

The Nomads were then awarded a penalty after Flint captain Harry Owen brought down Callum Bratley inside the area. Hughes stepped up and made no mistake in finding the net for his 13th league goal of the season, which now takes him to the top of the league’s scoring charts.

Reeves thought he had pulled a goal back for Flint with his low drive into the bottom corner just after the hour mark, but the goal was disallowed for a clear offside.

Sam Durrant, who was introduced in place of Woodcock, nearly made an instant impact just 10 minutes after he entered the pitch as his curling effort from just outside the area forced a diving save from Jack Flint.

However, Durrant was not to be denied once more as he intercepted Phillips in the final third, drove into the box and clinically found the bottom corner for his first Nomads goal at the Essity Stadium.

Although the closing stages were a little quieter for both sides, there was a moment to savour for academy talent Harvey Morris, who replaced Kris Owens to make his senior Nomads debut.

The full time whistle blew, meaning The Nomads regained Flintshire derby bragging rights. A third straight league win keeps us firmly in the race for seventh place, where we sit just five points behind Barry Town United.

What’s Next?
This bright run of form gives us confidence heading into our JD Welsh Cup semi-final against Llanelli Town on Saturday, 15 March as we continue our defence of the trophy.

Saturday’s match will take place at Park Avenue, home of Aberystwyth Town, and will kick off at 12:30pm.

For those of you who cannot make it to Aberystwyth, the match will be broadcast live on Sgorio’s online platforms.

Match Photos

Match Report by Adam Angerer