Match Report by Trevor Green.

Nomads in the all Red away kit, took Mark McGregor’s ‘you score one and we’ll score two’ philosophy to the limit at Richmond Park on Saturday. And in a performance of pace and quality, we saw outstanding displays by the youngest and oldest of the Nomads players.

Ricky Evans rolled back the years with a display that the Carmarthen website described thus,” Evans seemed untouchable and he crowned a splendid performance with his 62nd minute goal”. 17 year old Rhys Healey finally looks like he has broken through to make a starting shirt his own. The hosts described his day well; “the visitors’ pacey young striker, who caused problems for Town’s defense throughout the game”.

However it was a tactical gamble from the Old Gold that defined this match. In a shock move that took us a while to countermand, they started the second half with four forwards and surged forward at speed. Within nine minutes they had overturned our lead to go 2-1 up. But they became completely stretched and lost shape. We leveled, then led and went out of site and might have scored six.

A great tactical battle on a very, very, bumpy surface was somewhat spoiled by the tawdry behavior of Liam McCreesh. The ex Port Talbot man is a good player, but he got away with spitting on Jamie Petrie, a disgusting offence that incensed everyone who saw it. Unfortunately, the otherwise excellent Northern Irish exchange referee missed the incident.

The game came alive on 13 minutes when Hood of Carmarthen, played Thomas in to the edge of the penalty area and his curling effort was finger tipped by John Rushton onto the foot of the post. McCreesh followed up, but was unable to connect with the rebound. Nomad Rhys Healey then ran at Carmarthen’s defense and was fouled in a good position, but Ricky Evans hit the resulting free kick into the wall. Next, it was Tiggers’ turn; he headed over from close range, from a trademark Healey long throw-in.

The game moved rapidly from end to end with both teams attacking freely as their pace left both red and amber defenders struggling. Nomads nearly paid for one error when Thomas intercepted a back-pass, but his shot from an acute angle missed the goal. In the inevitable counter, Healey turned sharply outside the box, but he too fired wide.

Just after half an hour, Nomads took the lead. Alan Hooley’s deep free-kick found Mark McGregor, who in a training ground move, ran to an unmarked position beyond the far post and headed back across goal into the net. Both Dean Canning and Rhys Healey lurked on the spot to finish if needed. In the final moments of the half, keeper John Rushton saved Nomads twice. First Thomas’s cross was drifting in, but Rushton stretched up to claw away, then in added time, Hood’s long ball found Thomas who’s shot forced him into a full length save.

Carmarthen manager Mark Aizlewood, brought on loan signing Scott Quigley for the second half and went with four up front. It was a gamble that ultimately proved reckless, but it had an immediate impact when Carmarthen surged into the penalty area and Quigley crashed in a shot which Rushton could only parry. Before any Nomads defenders could react, Liam Thomas pounced to stab the ball home. Soon after, Nomads almost regained the lead when Chris Rowntree was unmarked in front of goal, but his attempted chip cleared the bar.

Carmarthen took a 2-1 lead on 53 minutes, when McCreesh lobbed to Hood and from a very sharp angle, he drove the ball in off the far post. It had been a bold gamble by Carmarthen, but Town were now a spent force.

Within seconds Nomads’ Rhys Healey was free in front of goal, but a bad bounce saw him shin an effort over the bar. But in the next attack, Evans found Healey again unmarked and he netted comfortably. Then on 62 minutes, Evans cut in from the right wing past home defenders, before curling a fierce high shot over the keepers despairing dive, to put Nomads 3-2 up. Nomads then proceeded to dominate the game with fast powerful football for which Carmarthen had no answer.

The closing paragraph of the Carmarthen match report says it all:

“Over the remaining 30 minutes of this game Connah's Quay were dominant. They were quicker to the ball, stronger in the tackle and seemed altogether more committed and inventive. While Town failed to create a single scoring opportunity in this period, at the other end shots rained in from all angles and distances; fortunately most were either off-target or comfortably held by Nicholas, but on 84 minutes the visitors scored the goal which their spell of sustained attacking deserved and which encapsulated perfectly all that had happened in this period.

Jamie Petrie received the ball on the half-way line and ran strongly and purposefully towards the home goal with no serious challenge from any of the defenders that he passed on his way; his finish from 15 yards was fierce and precise, leaving Nicholas with no chance”. 

There was just time for McCreesh to get himself dismissed for a second bookable offence and as he left the field, he was taunted by Nomads bench over the spitting incident. McCreesh suffered the further indignity by being dragged away by the stewards after reacting by running into the Nomads dug out.