Friday night saw The Nomads stun Caernarfon with a second half comeback with Ben Nash and Joe Malkin’s goals securing a hard earned point despite Nomads trailing by three goals.

Form
The Nomads came into this game in tremendous goal scoring form having bagged 12 goals in their last three games before today. A 3-1 victory over Newtown maintained the pressure on league leaders TNS before Nomads made the trip to Pontypridd where a stellar first half performance secured a staggering 5-0 win against The Dragons. Nomads also gained themselves a spot in the last 16 of the JD Welsh Cup after another convincing win against Colwyn Bay where Nomads were able to avenge last season’s 2-0 defeat to Bay.

As for Caernarfon, a 3-0 victory over Cardiff Met at Cyncoed kept themselves in the race for a top six position. However, a tough encounter with Penybont ended in a 2-0 defeat for TheCofis. Tonight’s visitors were also in Welsh Cup action last weekend but were on the losing side after a 2-1 defeat to TNS at Park Hall.

Team News
Neil Gibson made just the one change from last Saturday’s cup triumph against Colwyn Bay as Ryan Stratulis returned to the starting eleven, replacing Josh Williams who was named on the bench.

Caernarfon manager Huw Griffiths made three changes from their cup defeat as goalkeeper Josh Tibbetts, Sion Bradley and Aaron Simpson all returned to the side in place of Tyler French, Danny Gosset and Noah Edwards.

The First Half
Caernarfon made the start they would have hoped for after a corner from the left hand side was swung in, seeing Fidel O’Rourke find the back of the net from close range to continue his fine form for The Cofis.

Nomads came extremely close to equalising ten minutes after O’Rourke’s opener as Ryan Harrington found space down the left, crossing into George Horan who jumped highest to head towards goal but his looping header hit the crossbar and Caernarfon were able to clear the danger.

Ryan Harrington almost levelled minutes later after Ryan Stratulis’ smart corner delivered to the edge of the area was met by the full back who controlled the ball and volleyed goalwards, however his shot was inches past the post.

Nomads continued to pile pressure on the Caernarfon backline and almost found their reward as this time, John Disney’s ball from the right hand side found Mike Wilde who had his header denied after a fine save from Josh Tibbetts.

Tibbetts was forced into action again five minutes later as Danny Holmes’ pass to the feet of Ryan Stratulis saw the midfielder set his sights on the top corner but another diving save from Tibbetts still meant O’Rourke’s goal was the difference.

Nomads were controlling possession well and managed to find their way into the final third yet again. Mike Hayes darted through into the box and was brought down by his marker leading to huge penalty appeals but referee Alex Livesey waved away the shouts and play continued.

Caernarfon nearly doubled their lead with only their second real chance of the game. A dangerous ball was met by Fidel O’Rourke whose looping header looked to be nestling into the bottom corner with Andy Firth slipping on his goalline, however O’Rourke’s header was whiskers wide of the far post.

Just before the half time whistle, Nomads were forced into their first substitution of the evening as Harry Franklin was introduced in place of Danny Holmes who looked to have picked up a slight injury.

The Second Half
Caernarfon went 2-0 up five minutes into the second half as Joe Faux was able to cut inside onto his left foot before sending a curling effort past Andy Firth and into the bottom corner from just inside the area.

Nomads continued to pressure the Caernarfon goal in search of a comeback with Harry Franklin’s cross just averting the head of Mike Wilde and Ryan Stratulis’ audacious attempt flashing over the crossbar.

Despite looking a lot more of a threat, Nomads fell further behind as Lloyd Marsh-Hughes put Caernarfon 3-0 up. Marsh-Hughes capitalised on a long ball that Nomads were unable to clear, allowing the forward to head past Firth.

Neil Gibson made his second change of the evening as he looked to bring on fresh legs up front, in search of a comeback. Joe Malkin was introduced in place of Mike Hayes with around 25 minutes to go.

Nomads pulled one back just before the 70 minute mark as Ryan Stratulis’ inswinging corner was turned home by Ben Nash who headed past Tibbetts for his first goal of the season, setting up an exciting final 20 minutes.

Substitute Joe Malkin found himself on the scoresheet as Nomads reduced the deficit to just one goal. Callum Bratley superbly held off his man before cutting inside onto his right foot, finding Malkin who diverted the ball goalwards and into the bottom corner, leaving Tibbetts no chance.

Harry Franklin came agonisingly close to producing the epic comeback as he sprinted through down the right hand side and looked to chip the ball over Tibbetts but the goalkeeper was able to parry the effort away.

However, Nomads did have themselves a hero as Joe Malkin scored again deep into stoppage to level the game at 3-3, seeing Deeside erupt with cheers. A cross from the right led to a goalmouth scramble where Malkin was able to poke the ball over the line and hand Nomads a hard earned and well deserved point.

Next Fixture
The Nomads now turn their attention to next Saturday afternoon where Taffs Well make the trip up to Deeside for the Nathaniel MG Cup Semi Final where Nomads will look to continue their quest to retain last season’s silverware. The match will take place on 26th November with a 13:00pm scheduled kick off time.

Match report by Adam Angerer