Date Published: Wednesday, 12th October, 2022 - 9:56pm by Adam Angerer
Sunday afternoon saw Nomads Women reach the next round of the FAW Women’s cup after a 6-2 victory against Llanfair at Deeside Stadium thanks to braces from Elana Harley and Kirstie Kural and two goals from Emily Bentley and Amber Bailey.
Kirstie Kural and Amber Bailey gave Nomads a 2-0 lead but the away side halved the deficit thanks to Mary Bailey’s free kick. Just before the hour mark, manager Jordan Parry brought on Elana Harley whose 10 minute brace saw the substitute make an instant impact and ensure Nomads were in a comfortable position. Emily Bentley and Kirstie Kural capped off another great result for Nomads, scoring the fifth and sixth of the afternoon.
It was a great weekend for Elana Harley as she produced a special performance on Friday evening just two days prior to this Welsh Cup clash. A wonderful hat trick as well as two assists helped Stephen Boyes’ U19 side to a 6-0 win over Rhyl U19s in the Genero Adran North U19s League.
The First Half
Nomads were on top for the first 20 minutes and almost got their reward as Chelsea Bloor’s long ball found Emily Bentley who got past her marker inside the area but Llanfair goalkeeper Ffion Davies rushed off her line and did enough to stop Bentley from hitting the target.
Kirstie Kural made it 1-0 just five minutes later as Emily Bentley’s pass was headed on by Kylie Jones before Kural raced through on goal and buried her effort beyond Ffion Davies to give Nomads a deserved lead.
Tamara Hamer came close to doubling the lead after Ella Harvey’s ball over the top left Hamer with only the goalkeeper to beat but goalkeeper Davies remained strong and made a diving save to deny the forward.
The visitors had tested Meg Robinson for the first time as Emma Williams’ through ball from midfield released Nia Ellis with a great chance to pull one back but her effort at the near post was comfortably saved by Robinson.
Nomads grabbed an important second goal as Amber Bailey made it two goals in two games. Tamara Hamer found Bailey on the edge of the area, seeing Bailey’s strike from distance fly past Ffion Davies and into the back of the net.
Ella Harvey delivered another pinpoint ball into the danger area which fell to Kirstie Kural who assessed her options and eventually laid the ball off to Tamara Hamer but her curler towards the bottom corner was wide by a narrow margin.
Llanfair pulled one back to make it 2-1 just before the half time whistle as Cat king brought down Mary Griffiths on the edge of the area. Mary Bailey took the free kick and found the bottom left hand corner to set up a crucial second half.
The Second Half
Nomads’ first chance of the second half came from a wide position as Emily Bentley’s superb tackle saw a loose ball fall to Tamara Hamer who skipped past her marker and squared to Bentley but her shot was caught well by Ffion Davies.
Nomads went even closer this time through Ella Harvey after Kirstie Kural’s cross was cleared by Nia Ellis but only as far as Harvey whose powerful first time shot from 25 yards was only just wide of the target.
The two goal lead was restored as Kirstie Kural’s long ball was met by Tamara Hamer who then sent a low ball across the face of goal seeing half time substitute Elana Harley finish into the bottom corner just 15 minutes after coming on off the bench.
Kural was involved yet again for Nomads’ fourth goal as she played another sublime lobbed ball which released Emily Bentley through inside the eighteen yard box, Bentley stayed calm and composed under pressure to find the far corner.
The U19 duo of Polly Wild-McGregor and Elana Harley combined just like they did on the first day of the season against Y Felinheli. McGregor’s through ball from the halfway line found Harley who rounded the goalkeeper and slotted home to score her eighth goal of the season already.
Llanfair clinched a consolation goal with just over ten minutes to play as Meg Robinson’s ball upfield was intercepted by Sarah Ellis who went for goal from long range and caught out Robinson to make it 6-2.
The final chance of the game fell to Elana Harley who almost bagged her second hat-trick in three days. Meg Andrews’ excellent pass reached Harley in behind the Llanfair backline, the forward then struck at the near post but was inches away from glory.
Kirstie Kural grabbed her brace as we neared the 90 minute mark. Polly Wild=McGregors pass into the area arrived at the feet of the Captain who found the time and space who emphatically fired her shot into the top corner leaving Ffion Davies no chance of the save.
Our women’s side now focus on their next match where reigning Adran North champions Llandudno travel to Deeside Stadium in what is bound to be an exciting encounter in The Genero Adran Trophy. The match will take place on 16th October with a scheduled 2:00pm kick off time.
