There were mixed emotions at the end of this game as the Nomads lost to a last minute goal but then learned that rivals Newtown had also lost, thus securing the Nomads a place in the European play-offs. Playing to a plan of containing the in-form Bala, the Nomads put in a tremendous performance, seeking to defend in numbers but also looking for opportunities to push forward at the right time.

With Danny Forde unavailable and Michael Robinson recovering from injury, Craig Jones and Danny Dobbins were brought in to the starting line-up.   

It was clear from the start that the Nomads had a game plan to contain the hosts but an early run from Jamie Petrie, fed by a Ricky Evans pass, showed that the Nomads would be looking to sneak a goal if possible. Rob Jones featured as he saw an effort saved at the foot of the post but was judged to be offside and then his long throw from the left was headed across goal by Ricky Evans, but there was no one there to meet the ball.

At the other end of the pitch the Nomads’ defence was being joined by the midfielders to make it difficult for Bala to get a sight on goal and after previous high-scoring games between the two teams this looked like being a very close affair. The Nomads continued to move forward whenever possible and after Ricky Evans had headed on to Jamie Petrie, a corner from the right produced a half chance for Mike Hayes. The ball was only partially cleared by Bala and the Nomads were awarded a free kick on the edge of the penalty area for a foul on John Hardiker. Free kick specialists Rob Jones and Ricky Evans lined up to take the kick but when Ricky hit his shot, it sailed high over the bar.

Bala continued to try to create an opening but were finding it difficult against a well organised Nomads defence which was being joined on occasions by centre forward Mike Hayes. Ricky Evans and Jamie Petrie were linking up well down the right side and after Jamie was fouled as he cut inside, a free kick from Rob Jones was punched out by the keeper and Jamie hit a shot which went over the bar. 

The 40th minute saw the first clear chance for Bala. Following a short corner, Steffan Edwards hit a goal-bound shot which John Rushton did very well to save on the near post.  As the first half moved to a close, the Nomads’ display was typified by Mike Hayes clearing the ball from the edge of the penalty area. 

An excellent first half performance from the Nomads brought the sides in level at 0-0.

The second half started in a similar fashion to the first half with the Nomads defending well and Bala not really seeming to know how to break through. A determined run down the left by Mike Hayes caused concern to the Bala defence before a foul was given against Rob Jones.        

As the game progressed, a series of poor refereeing decisions started to frustrate the Nomads and after three successive fouls on Nomads players went unpunished, Mr Jones gave a foul against Rob Jones. Shortly afterwards, Jamie Petrie was judged to be at fault when he was clearly fouled by a Bala defender. 

Another long throw from Rob Jones almost produced a goal when the headed clearance from a Bala defender fell to Ryan Edwards who hit a very good volley which was deflected for a corner. This started a spell of Nomads dominance and it was Bala who started to appear content with a draw. Some good flowing play saw Ryan Edwards presented with a chance from about 10 yards but his effort went narrowly wide. 

Despite Bala’s pressure at times, John Rushton had had a relatively quiet game but he was called into action and needed treatment after making a brave save when fouled by Lee Hunt. 

As the game entered the last five minutes, Bala applied some pressure on the Nomads goal with a couple of corners but it looked like ending goalless. Then, in the 90th minute, the Nomads were dealt a cruel blow when a speculative lob into the penalty area bounced into the path of substitute Mark Connolly who was first to the ball and headed over the advancing Rushton into the net. This was a hammer blow and despite there being three added minutes there was no way for the Nomads to recover.

As the players trudged off at full-time, their spirits were lifted a little with the news that Newtown had lost to Afan Lido and the Nomads had retained their 8th position, meaning they had qualified for the European play-offs and a return visit to Maes Tegid next Saturday.

After the disappointment of the previous weeks’ performance against Newtown, this was a tremendous performance by the Nomads and they had fully deserved at least a draw and possibly a win out of this game. Some poor refereeing decisions went against them and Bala will regard themselves as fortunate to have managed to maintain their 100% record since the league split. On this performance the play-off game should be quite a match.

Match Report written by Ray Brown.