The Nomads returned to winning ways with a stellar 8-0 victory over Prestatyn in the JD Welsh Cup at The Essity Stadium. Jordan Davies’ hat-trick, Callum Morris’ brace as well as goals from Harry Franklin, Jack Kenny and Noah Edwards completed a wonderful cup performance under the lights.

Facing a team from the league below can always be a potential banana skin, however tonight, The Nomads made sure they made the most of their opportunities as Neil Gibson triumphed over his former side.

Harry Franklin opened the scoring with a clinical header before two calm finishes from Callum Morris put The Nomads in dreamland. Jordan Davies found himself back amongst the goals at the start of the second half with Jack Kenny later adding a fifth. Noah Edwards slotted home from Davies’ lay off with the going on to complete his hat-trick in the final 20 minutes as The Nomads progress into the next round.

Form
The Nomads’ twelve game unbeaten run came to a frustrating end last Saturday against Cardiff Met. A number of missed opportunities proved to be costly as the South Walians came out 3-1 victors. However, those results over the past two months have seen The Nomads climb into second and give themselves a strong chance of finishing in the top six come the end of Phase One. With a busy festive schedule on the horizon, The Nomads know that every game and every point makes such a difference at this stage of the season. In midweek, The Nomads gave their congratulations to Ben Nash who picked up the award for Cymru Premier Player of the Month after his outstanding performances during October.

Since they reached round three of the Welsh Cup, Prestatyn have had a dip in their form having lost four from their last five matches. Newly appointed player-manager Karl Clair has seen his side suffer heavy losses to Airbus and Porthmadog as well as a Nathaniel MG Cup Quarter Final penalty shootout defeat to fellow Cymru North side Guilsfield. A crucial 1-0 victory over Llanidloes saw them climb to tenth, however last weekend, The Seasiders were on the losing side again after letting a two goal lead slip against Llandudno, who moved off the bottom of the table.

Team News
Neil Gibson made just the one change to his Nomads side as Kai Edwards returned from suspension to replace Dan Roberts in the centre of defence. The Nomads also welcomed back Mike Wilde from injury. Wilde was named on the bench after a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Player-manager Karl Clair began up front for the Seasiders, who made three changes. Jack Rimmer, Tom Hilditch and Ben Jones all came into the side to replace Emmanuel Lawal, Kurtis Pearson and Charles McMahon.

The First Half
The Nomads had the ball in the back of the net inside five minutes as Jack Kenny rounded Michael Jones and slotted home, however the assistant’s flag on the far side was raised for offside and the goal was disallowed.

The Nomads carved open the Prestatyn defence shortly after as Harry Franklin headed home the opening goal. John Disney’s pinpoint cross from the left hand side found the head of Franklin, who rose highest to find the bottom corner for his seventh goal of the season.

Callum Morris made it two in the 15th minute as a Ryan Harrington cross from the left wasn’t dealt with by the visitors, allowing Morris to find the target with a real poacher’s finish for his 80th competitive goal in a Nomads shirt.

Morris got his 81st just moments after his first of the evening. Jack Kenny wriggled through a number of bodies before back heeling the ball into the path of Morris, who found the top corner from close range, leaving Prestatyn goalkeeper Michael Jones no chance.

Prestatyn had a glorious opportunity to pull one back on the stroke of half time as Tom Hilditch’s long ball in towards Dan Atkins saw the winger look to beat Firth with a clever volley but his attempt was inches wide of the post.

The Second Half
Ryan Harrington got his second assist of the night as he set up Jordan Davies for a goal against his former club. Harrington’s delivery flew through everyone until it reached Davies at the back post and the striker simply couldn’t miss from only a few yards out.

Nomads continued to dominate and added a fifth as Davies turned goalscorer into provider. His outside the foot pass released Jack Kenny through on goal and he made no mistake, using composure to round Jones and slot into an empty net.

Jones was forced into making another save in what would have been a bizarre own goal. Declan Poole’s cross struck Seasiders captain Rob Murphy and the ball looked to be creeping into the bottom corner, but Jones was alert and clawed the ball away to safety.

There was a glorious chance for Callum Morris to grab his hat-trick midway through the second half. Jordan Davies’ strike was parried out by Jones but only as far as Morris who probably should have done better with his effort. He went for power but in doing so, couldn’t find the aim as he blazed over the bar to his dismay.

Noah Edwards got in on the act in the 67th minute with an accurate finish beyond Jones. Harrington’s delivery found its way through to Davies at the back post, who rolled the ball back to Edwards before the midfielder tucked away a sixth goal into the bottom right hand corner.

Davies then made it seven within a matter of minutes as he turned home Declan Poole’s cross with a thumping header, a goal which Jones could do nothing about as another defence-splitting attack gave Nomads the response they needed following last weekend’s defeat to Cardiff Met. The Nomads oozed quality in the final third and kept up the energy in search of more goals.

The Nomads made four changes in the space of five minutes as Mike Wilde returned to action to replace Jack Kenny. Callum Bratley, Josh Williams and Dan Roberts also came on for Noah Edwards, Harry Franklin and Kai Edwards.

The combination of Poole and Davies struck again as Davies completed his hat-trick ten minutes before the final whistle. This goal was probably the pick of the bunch as Poole found Davies with loads of time on his hand to pick his spot, the striker took one touch before firing low and hard into the bottom corner for his staggering 17th goal of the season and second Nomads hat-trick in under a month.

The Nomads sealed victory in style and maintained a clean sheet as Neil Gibson’s side booked their place in round four of the JD Welsh Cup. Details for next round’s draw will be confirmed following all of the weekend’s ties.

Next Fixture
The Nomads are back in JD Cymru Premier action in a rare Sunday fixture against Haverfordwest, who will make the long trip up north to The Essity Stadium. The Nomads will be looking for a repeat of their impressive 3-1 victory against The Bluebirds earlier this season as Neil Gibson’s side also aim to cement their place in the top six. The match will take place on Sunday 19th November with a 2:30pm scheduled kick off time at The Essity.

Match report by Adam Angerer