Saturday afternoon saw The Nomads reach the third round of the JD Welsh Cup with a 4-1 victory over Caernarfon at The Essity Stadium courtesy of a Jordan Davies hat-trick and a cool Ryan Stratulis finish.

A cagey opening 30 minutes were eventually put to bed as two penalties in the space of three minutes were converted by Jordan Davies. Then just two minutes into the second half, Davies completed his hat-trick, slotting past Cofis goalkeeper Tom Pritchard who was some distance off his line. Davies then turned provider for Ryan Stratulis in the 54th minute as a swift counter attacking move allowed Davies to pull the back to Stratulis who made no mistake from close range. Sion Bradley got Caernarfon on the scoresheet but ultimately, the damage was already done and those four goals were enough to send The Nomads into the hat for round three of the JD Welsh Cup.

Our record against The Cofis is a very good one of late, having not lost to the side from The Oval since April 2019, a run spanning 12 games in which we have picked up nine victories and three draws.

Our last meeting in the Welsh Cup came in March 2019, a game which saw The Nomads run out 2-1 winners at The Oval thanks to goals from Rob Hughes and Mike Wilde with Gareth Edwards getting on the scoresheet for Caernarfon.

Form
The Nomads have found themselves in a fantastic run of form recently in the JD Cymru Premier. Seven straight wins against tough opposition for Neil Gibson’s side means there is a chase for top spot with TNS just a few points above The Nomads. Last Friday, The Nomads had the chance to go top but could only come home with a point against Aberystwyth meaning TNS extended their lead at the top by four points. In midweek, the JD Cymru Leagues announced their monthly awards with Jordan Davies receiving the JD Cymru Premier Player of the Month award for his seven league goals during September.

Caernarfon have been hit and miss lately with three wins and four losses in their last seven games, including The Nomads’ rampant 4-0 victory over The Cofis at the beginning of September. A narrow 1-0 victory over Pontypridd as well as wins over struggling sides Barry Town and Aberystwyth means Richard Davies’ side do sit in a solid fourth position and after last season’s tight relegation battle, Caernarfon have certainly bounced back and now look to be in a fight for a top six position come the end of Phase One.

Team News
The major team news for The Nomads was the return of goalkeeper Andy Firth, who started his first game since our 4-0 victory over Aberystwyth back in August. There were also two changes in midfield as Josh Williams and Ryan Stratulis both came in for Callum Morris and Jack Kenny. Kai Edwards returned from a short spell on the sidelines to partner Ben Nash in the centre of defence.

There was also a change in between the sticks for Caernarfon as 17 year old Tom Pritchard replaced Lewis Webb. Pritchard’s fellow academy teammate Cai Griffith was also handed a first team start, replacing striker Adam Davies.

The First Half
The first major opportunity of the match fell to Caernarfon’s Sion Bradley who received the ball from fellow forward Louis Lloyd after Lloyd intercepted a tame Nomads pass at the back, Lloyd slipped in Bradley but Ben Nash tracked back just in time to prevent Bradley from getting his shot away.

The Nomads threatened for the next 15 minutes and certainly looked like they were going to find the breakthrough at some stage. John Disney struck narrowly over the bar from the edge of the area and in another difficult chance, Jordan Davies headed wide from Ryan Harrington’s cross, a header which not many strikers would be able to get on target in all respect.

Ryan Stratulis went close with a free kick from around 25 yards out. Stratulis curled his free kick around the wall, looking to catch out Pritchard, however the goalkeeper dived down low to make the save. The attempt looked to be going wide anyways but Pritchard had to be fully sure.

Just moments later, The Nomads went ahead through Jordan Davies’ penalty. Harrington’s through ball into Davies saw the striker go to ground following a foul by Pritchard and the referee had no choice but to point to the spot. Davies stepped up and made no mistake, calmly converting from twelve yards, sending Pritchard the wrong way.

The Nomads were awarded another spot kick around three minutes after the first as a long ball up to Harry Franklin saw Iwan Cartwright bring him down inside the area and this one had no reason to be questioned, a blatant foul which the referee saw as a bookable offence for Cartwright and also another Nomads penalty. Davies stepped up once again and opted for the other side, Pritchard guessed correctly but the power and precision of the strike meant he was unable to keep it out, seeing Davies double his and The Nomads’ tally for the afternoon.

The Second Half
Jordan Davies completed his hat-trick just a minute into the second half as he was able to find space beyond three defenders and compose himself with Pritchard some distance off his line, allowing him to home into an empty net and give The Nomads a three goal cushion.

Ryan Stratulis added a fourth goal just before the hour mark as a terrific passage of play completely carved open the Caernarfon backline. Jordan Davies was played through down the byline and his ball back across the face of goal was turned home by Stratulis from close range and The Nomads’ name in the hat for round three looked to be secured.

Andy Firth was back to doing what he does best, making outstanding saves and he did just that as he made a diving stop to deny Dion Donohue and his free kick from the edge of the area.

The Nomads then made a triple change as Mike Wilde, Jack Kenny and Eddie Clarke all came on for Harry Franklin, Ryan Stratulis and Ryan Harrington.

There was a brief stoppage in play in the 64th minute as Andy Firth went down holding his leg and this wouldn’t have been ideal in the slightest with the goalkeeper only just returning to action this afternoon, however after receiving treatment, he was quickly back to his feet and ready to continue with play.

Zack Clarke had a glorious chance to pull one back for the away side with 20 minutes to go as a ball back into a dangerous area saw an unmarked Clarke completely scuff his attempt to his dismay and that opportunity ultimately summed up Caernarfon’s afternoon in front of goal.

The Nomads made their fourth change of the afternoon as Dan Roberts replaced Ben Nash, who came off his fourth clean sheet of the season.

Caernarfon eventually got on the scoresheet as Sion Bradley bagged a consolation goal. The Cofis No.7 spotted Firth off his line and although he slipped when going for goal, Bradley was still able to find the back of the net via the post.

The Nomads made their final change as we edged closer to the final whistle and as a precaution due to the slight knock earlier on in the match, Andy Firth made way for Jon Rushton.

So Jordan Davies’ hat-trick and Ryan Stratulis’ close range strike was enough to send The Nomads into round three of the JD Welsh Cup as the full time whistle went at The Essity. That’s now 13 goals in all competitions for Jordan Davies this season and he proves his worth as the JD Cymru Premier Player of the Month. Ryan Stratulis has also been shining in a Nomads shirt as that’s now four goals in his last four games in all competitions, including two appearances for our U21’s side and of course that halfway line stunner against Haverfordwest which deservedly received the Sgorio Goal of the Month award for September so it’s safe to say that it’s been an astonishing month for The Nomads.

Next Fixture
We’re back in action in just four days' time as we host Bala Town in the JD Cymru Premier at The Essity Stadium. The match will take place on Wednesday 18th October with a 7:45pm scheduled kick off time. The Nomads will be looking to avenge a frustrating 1-0 loss to The Lakesiders back in August.

Match report by Adam Angerer