Connah’s Quay Nomads drew 1-1 with Bala Town in the first game of Phase Two of the JD Welsh Premier League on Thursday evening at Deeside Stadium.

• Nomads stay second with draw
• Bakare strike gave Nomads the lead
• The home side saw more chances to score
• Ex-Nomad Lewis Short equalised for Bala

The game, which was watched by 420 and streamed live on Sgorio’s Facebook page, was decided by a first half Michael Bakare goal and a second half Lewis Short strike.

The Nomads came into the game after a positive 3-1 win in the fourth round of the JD Welsh Cup against Porthmadog which earned them a home tie against The New Saints in the quarter finals.

Bala came to Deeside after a full two week break, and started four ex-Nomads in Michael Hayes, Les Davies and duo Lewis Short and John Disney who returned to Deeside for the first time having been part of The Nomads’ 2016/17 squad.

The Nomads started an attacking line of Michael Wilde, Michael Bakare and Andy Owens whilst Sean Smith kept his place in the team after being brought on as a substitute in The Nomads’ previous outing.

The game started with little incident as both teams tried to deal with a heavy pitch at Deeside.  The first action came in the 11th minute, when a Bala free kick in a good position 25 yards from The Nomads’ area was taken by Venables, but blocked by The Nomads’ defensive wall.

Sean Smith, who was tireless for The Nomads at left back, sent a cross into the Bala area in the 15th minute which just evaded forward Andy Owens.

After 20 minutes, the game was even and a goal looked unlikely, but in stepped Michael Bakare who, after initially struggling to get the ball under control, fired an 18 yard effort past goalkeeper Ashley Morris to send The Nomads ahead in the 23rd minute.

MICHAEL BAKARE!

Bakare yn agor y sgorio, gôl dda! | Bakare with the opener, good goal! @the_nomads 1-0 Y Bala

yn fyw | Live on: https://t.co/ORsH73SyB0 pic.twitter.com/W0UXIpAgJK

— sgorio (@sgorio) February 1, 2018

Boosted by their goal, The Nomads enjoyed a strong first half, causing Bala a range of problems in the final third. Declan Poole got the ball inside a packed Bala area, but couldn’t get his shot away thanks to the Bala defence.

Les Davies sent a dangerously weighted cross into The Nomads’ area on 31 minutes, but Kai Edwards was on hand to head the ball away.

The Nomads then had their best chance to extend their lead, as on 32 minutes, Wilde knocked a Smith cross to Andy Owens, who was clear in front of goal in the Bala area. Owens went for the ball but couldn’t connect with it, with the wet pitch slowing the ball as it came to him.

Owens was again at the centre of the action in the 37th minute, as he raced into the Bala Town area to be brought down by ex-Nomads John Disney, but The Nomads’ penalty claims were rejected by referee Kevin Parry.

Bala Town missed a golden opportunity to equalise right at the end of the first half, when the ball fell to Michael Hayes who sent his shot wide of goal despite being just six yards from The Nomads’ net.

In the second half, Michael Bakare used his pace and trickery to threaten Bala, as he sent a number of crosses into the Lakesiders’ area.  Bakare sent a header towards goal from a Poole cross in the 57th minute, but goalkeeper Ashley Morris collected it.

In the 60th minute Lewis Short hit a first time strike on the edge of The Nomads area, equalising against his former side with a powerful low shot which went into the bottom right corner of the net.

LEWIS SHORT! ?????????

Am gôl i unioni’r sgôr! What a hit!

Cei Connah 1-1 @BalaTownFC

yn fyw | Live - https://t.co/LUn39KtoXu pic.twitter.com/Nq6dbysZSA

— sgorio (@sgorio) February 1, 2018

With the game once again level and in deadlock, The Nomads made a change, replacing Michael Bakare with Ryan Wignall with 20 minutes still to play.

On 76 minutes, Bala nearly broke through on The Nomads’ goal, but a tactical foul from George Horan stopped the move and earned The Nomads’ skipper a yellow card.

Ryan Wignall then looked to have a go at goal from 18 yards, but a free kick was given to Bala just outside their own area.

The final stages of the game saw battles all over the field as both sides looked to try and grab a winner.  Owing to solid defensive displays from both sides, this did not transpire and after two additional minutes of play they were forced to settle for a point.

The result keeps Nomads second in the JD Welsh Premier League, with their position dependent on results elsewhere in the top six during the course of the weekend’s action.

They are next in action at Cardiff Met FC on Sunday 11 February for a 2:30pm kick off. Live match commentary will be available via the club’s Twitter feed.

Match report by Will Catterall