Franklin bags nine minute hat-trick as Nomads run riot at Ferry

Second half substitute Harry Franklin made an incredible impact as his nine minute hat-trick gave Connah’s Quay Nomads a 3-0 win away to Briton Ferry Llansawel at The Renewable Centre Stadium on Saturday.

Franklin was introduced ahead of the second half and took just six minutes to make his presence known as he fired beyond Will Fuller from close range to find the breakthrough.

That breakthrough opened the floodgates for Franklin and the Nomads as the attacker simply finished off square balls from Marco Fregapane and Rhys Hughes.

Ferry did not really test Kit Margetson throughout the contest, which meant Nomads were able to keep their clean sheet and secure their third consecutive league victory within the space of seven days.

Team News
John Disney made three changes from Tuesday’s win at Bala Town as Marco Fregapane, Dan Cowan and Declan Poole all returned to the starting lineup. Callum Bratley and Max Woodcock dropped to the bench, while Noah Edwards served his one-match suspension. Midfielder Abdi Sharif continued to be on international duty for Somalia in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Briton Ferry manager Andy Dyer made just the one change from his side’s midweek win over Barry Town United as striker Ruben Davies missed out and was replaced by Mitchel Bates.

There was also a family affair at Old Road as Nomads midfielder Jacob Cook came up against his step brother and Ferry captain Tom Price.

First Half
The opening stages to the contest were halted for seven minutes after Ferry defender Jack Fanning suffered a nasty injury following a collision with Jason Oswell, who was booked as a result.

Just six minutes after play resumed, Rhys Hughes went extremely close to opening the scoring. Neat work from Callum West down the byline saw space open up for Hughes on the edge of the area, but his curling effort towards the top corner was tipped away by Will Fuller.

The Ferry goalkeeper denied Hughes again, this time from a wide free-kick, while Chris Marriott saw his fierce volley from inside the area blocked before it could find the bottom corner.

Declan Poole went close to his first league goal of the season in first half stoppage time as his dipping strike forced another diving save from Fuller

Second Half
Despite Fuller’s saves for his side, the Nomads found a crucial breakthrough six minutes after the restart as substitute Harry Franklin replaced Jason Oswell and immediately made an impact.

Ben Nash played a delightful ball over the top to release Franklin, who raced into the area and finished past Fuller at the near post from close range

Franklin’s second goal arrived in the 56th minute and came courtesy of Marco Fregapane’s brilliant work to win the ball back deep into the final third and square for Franklin, who made no mistake slotting into an empty net.

Franklin’s hat-trick was complete just three minutes later as he tapped home from Hughes’ low ball across the face of goal. It is now the second time Harry Franklin has scored a hat-trick in under 10 minutes for the Nomads - his first coming against Caernarfon Town in October 2023.

Callum Bratley, Dan Roberts, Andrew Buah and Max Woodcock were all introduced for the Nomads in the latter stages of the second half, and they all contributed massively in seeing out the game.

Ferry’s only major chance came with just three minutes of normal time remaining as Mitchel Bates fired over the bar from close range. The Reds’ frustration was clear to see when defender Alex Gammond was booked for a reckless challenge on Franklin in stoppage time.

The Nomads are now unbeaten in six out of their last seven league matches and are level on points with third-place Caernarfon Town.

What’s Next?
The Nomads put their focus onto the JD Welsh Cup second round as the Nomads travel to face Bala Town at Maes Tegid on Saturday, 18 October (2pm KO)

Our last match in this competition saw us narrowly beaten by The New Saints in last season’s final, which was John Disney’s last game as a player before his appointment as manager.

Disney’s side triumphed at Maes Tegid just a few days ago as Ben Nash, Rhys Hughes and Callum West were all on target in a hard-fought 3-1 victory.

Match Report by Adam Angerer