Saturday afternoon saw The Nomads reach the semi-finals of the JD Welsh Cup after a 5-0 win over local rivals Airbus thanks to goals from Jack Kenny, Harry Franklin, George Horan and a quickfire brace from Joe Malkin.

Form
The Nomads came into this game after a frustrating last few weeks. A postponed fixture against Haverfordwest at the beginning of January gave Neil Gibson and his side two weeks to prepare for the Nathaniel MG Cup Final against Bala Town. However, it was heartbreak for Nomads in the penalty shootout after Bala came out victorious. Just three days later, the lads were back in action, making the long trip down to South Wales in the rearranged fixture with Tony Pennock’s Haverfordwest on Tuesday evening which saw The Nomads’ unbeaten league record come to an end in a narrow 2-1 loss.

As for today’s opponents Airbus, only one point in the Cymru Premier all season has left Jamie Reed’s Wingmakers in a very tough position in the fight for survival. Three weeks ago, Airbus set up today’s cup clash courtesy of a penalty shootout victory against Pontardawe Town. Airbus’ final Phase One fixture came at Cyncoed Campus against Cardiff Met where despite scoring their first league goal since the end of December, The Archers ran out 3-1 winners to cement their top six position.

Team News
Neil Gibson made three changes from Tuesday’s trip to Bridge Meadow as Callum Bratley returned from injury, making his way into the midfield with Harry Franklin and Jack Kenny also starting this afternoon’s encounter.

Airbus manager Jamie Reed also made three changes to his side with Lewis Dutton, Jamie Crowther and Thomas Williams all amongst the starting eleven.

The First Half
The Nomads made a dream start to this cup tie after Callum Bratley’s through ball in behind the Airbus defence gave Jack Kenny the opportunity to find the net one on one with Lewis Dutton and the striker made no mistake, firing a composed finish into the bottom corner to make it 1-0 inside six minutes.

Airbus had their first real chance of the afternoon just before the 20 minute mark after a corner was cleared by Jack Kenny and the front post but only as far as Sam Rickett who couldn’t keep his volley down on target, untroubling Andy Firth.

The Wingmakers then broke inside the Nomads box for the first time of the afternoon as Adam Davies managed to dribble down the byline, the Airbus forward then looked to fire a low ball across the face of goal but a crucial block from Ryan Harrington halted the attack.

Aron Williams then looked lively down the right hand side as he teased his man before finding space for a cross which was cleared at the last second, stopping Ben Nash from having a clear sight of goal.

The Nomads then came agonisingly close to scoring a second once more after Ryan Harrington’s pinpoint cross was met by John Disney’s whose header looked destined for the back of the net but a goal line clearance from Airbus Captain Steve Tomassen kept it at 1-0.

The final action of the half saw The Nomads make the Airbus defence work yet again as Joe Palmer’s foul on Aron Williams resulted in a yellow card for the defender. The wide free kick was swung in and was headed down by Ben Nash into the path of Captain George Horan whose low effort had to be smacked clear.

The Second Half
The Nomads made their first change of the afternoon just before we got underway for the second half as Josh Williams was introduced in place of Aron Williams.

The substitute was nearly on target just five minutes after coming on as Harry Franklin’s low ball fell back out to Williams but his powerful strike was inches over the bar.

Airbus goalkeeper Lewis Dutton’s goal kick was instantly intercepted by Jack Kenny who drove through on goal, however Dutton redeemed himself with a fine save to deny Kenny of his brace.

Dutton was forced into action again as Josh Williams stood over a free kick on the left hand side and went for glory with a speculative effort which almost flew over Dutton but the goalkeeper managed to hold on.

The Nomads doubled their lead five minutes later and it was a moment of brilliance from Harry Franklin. The attacking midfielder received the ball on the right before cutting onto his left foot to send a low driven shot towards the near post which Dutton was unable to keep out, putting Nomads two goals to the good with 25 minutes to play.

The Nomads had the ball in the net for the third time this afternoon as Ryan Harrington was spotted making a darting run on the left flank which saw Harrington slot past Dutton at his near post but the linesman’s flag was up on the far side, therefore the goal was disallowed for offside.

Paulo Mendes was then brought on for goalscorer Harry Franklin and Mendes made an instant impact as he assisted George Horan for The Nomads’ third goal of the day. Mendes’ delivery from the byline left Horan with a free header which he coolly nodded into the bottom corner to put Nomads on the brink of a semi final spot.

The Nomads made a double change with ten minutes to go as both Joe Malkin and Dan Roberts came on for Jack Kenny and Callum Bratley.

Malkin took little time to get on the scoresheet as just four minutes after coming on off the bench, the striker made it 4-0 in bizarre fashion. Andy Firth’s long ball upfield sailed all the way through the Airbus backline, then seeing Malkin take the ball around Dutton and slotting home into an empty net.

Seconds later, Malkin bagged himself a brace as Stephen Tomassen’s tame pass back to Dutton was short of pace, allowing Malkin to seize upon a glorious opportunity which he calmly took to make it a five star performance and confirm The Nomads’ place in the final four of the JD Welsh Cup.

Next Fixture
Neil Gibson and his side now focus on next weekend’s Phase Two opener against Newtown at Latham Park where The Nomads will look to get back on track in the JD Cymru Premier in the battle for a European spot.

Match report by Adam Angerer