Match Report by Ray Brown.

An out-of-form Nomads were found wanting as an in-form Bala exacted some revenge for the 6-3 win the Nomads recorded just a few weeks ago. Without a recognised striker, the Nomads were unable to trouble the Bala goal while the visitors showed their attacking strength as they notched up a 4 goal lead by half-time and went on to record their highest ever score in the WPL as they ended up comfortable 5-0 winners. 

There were two changes from the starting line-up for the Newtown game, with Ryan Edwards and Danny Dobbins replacing Sean Breen and Rob Jones who were on the bench. Mark McGregor started at right back with Mike Robinson operating at centre back.

There was a scare for the Nomads almost straight from the kick-off as John Hardiker lost the ball on the edge of the penalty area and John Rushton was forced to save with his legs. The Nomads pushed upfield but then found themselves back on the defensive as they struggled to cope with a mazy run by Bala’s Steffan Edwards before conceding a corner. A minute later and more pressure from Bala saw Lee Hunt score with a low shot into the far corner of the net.

With the Nomads defence struggling to cope with the pace of the Bala forwards there was another scare in the 8th minute when a cross from the right skimmed off the crossbar.  As the Nomads started to get into the game the lack of forward power showed when there was no one there to meet a Danny Forde cross from the right.  A change in defence saw Macca move into the centre and Mike Robinson move to right back.  

Having weathered the initial storm, the Nomads found themselves 2-0 down in the 22nd minute when once again they failed to clear the ball out of defence and Ian Sheridan hit the ball into the net after a first attempt had been blocked.

Referee Andy Harms upset the home side in the 26th minute as he called play back for a free kick on Danny Forde when it looked like the better decision would have been to allow an advantage.  With Premier League referee Mike Dean watching from the stand this was an isolated mistake by Harms who had a good game.

Although not playing well, the Nomads were making some advances on the Bala goal. A six minute spell saw a Danny Forde effort saved by the Bala keeper, a speculative 30 yard shot from Jamie Petrie forcing the keeper to push the ball round the post for a corner and another effort by Forde which ended with Ricky Evans heading narrowly wide.

Bala had another clear chance as Lee Hunt beat the offside trap to collect a long ball but John Rushton pushed his shot over the bar for a corner.  Three minutes later, in the 39th minute, Bala extended their lead to 3-0 as their break down the right ended with Stephen Brown blasting his angled shot into the net.

With Bala rampant and Nomads looking shell-shocked, half-time beckoned but there was to be another goal for Bala as Lee Hunt again took advantage of poor defending to score his second goal. At 4-0, the half-time whistle came as a relief to the home side who trudged off looking very down.

The second half started with Rob Jones on in place of Danny Dobbins but Bala were soon on the offensive again and after Mark McGregor was forced to concede a corner, the visitors scored again as Stuart Jones rose in the 48th minute to meet the corner and head strongly into the net.      

5-0 and Bala should have made it six when they broke from defence following a Nomads corner but with four Bala players advancing against a single defender they somehow messed up and the final shot was blasted wide.

There was still the occasional spell of attacking by the home side but it just wasn’t their night and they were denied what looked a reasonable shout for a penalty after Alan Hooley was brought down. A couple of good moves showed what the Nomads were capable of and Danny Forde deserved better when he saw the keeper push his goalbound shot round the post for a corner.  Mike Robinson looked to have the goal at his mercy from the corner but failed to connect with his head.

The 70th minute came and Ricky and Tigger were replaced by Sean Breen and Chris Rowntree but Bala were coasting and there appeared to be nothing that could get the Nomads back into the game.

The last 20 minutes saw a couple of chances fall to both sides but there were no further goals and the Nomads will have been relieved to have survived without conceding any more goals.  

A very disappointing defeat and definitely not one of the Nomads’ better performances. This result almost certainly killed off any hopes of a 7th place in the League and left the Nomads facing a scrap to avoid being in the relegation danger zone.