Date Published: Saturday, 28th January, 2023 - 11:19pm by Adam Angerer
Wednesday Evening saw Connah’s Quay Nomads Women edge past Wrexham in a dramatic penalty shootout thanks to two saves from goalkeeper Meg Robinson and a winning penalty from youngster Polly Wild-McGregor as Jordan Parry’s side began their quest to retain the NEWFA Cup.
Form
The Nomads came into this midweek fixture with a 4-0 victory over Y Felinheli and a 5-0 triumph over Rhyl, both in the Genero Adran North which keeps The Nomads within touching distance of tonight’s opponents Wrexham at the top of the table. In the midst of these league fixtures, The Nomads exited the Genero Adran Trophy at the hands of Adran Premier side Cardiff Met despite a solid performance.
As for Wrexham, their Adran Trophy also came to an end after Aberystwyth earned a 2-0 win. Wrexham returned to winning ways with a 6-0 win over Y Felinheli at Cae Seilo with top scorer Amber Lightfoot scoring four goals this past Sunday.
Team News
Jordan Parry made three changes to his starting eleven with Meg Andrews, Tegan Hewitt and Amber Bailey all returning to the side. Polly Wild-McGregor and Emily Bentley were named on the bench along with Ella Harvey who returned to the squad from a minor injury.
Steve Dale made just the one change with Rosie Hughes making her way back up front, replacing Sophie Hodson who was named amongst the substitutes.
The First Half
The Nomads started the half as the better side, moving the ball well with composure around their opponents and almost found an early breakthrough. Kirstie Kural had a shot from distance blocked whilst Shannon Hobbs had her looping header saved by Delyth Morgan.
Two minutes later, a counter attack by the home side nearly saw Rosie Hughes grab the opener but a fine stop from Meg Robinson denied the Wrexham Number 9.
Hughes was proving to be a danger up front and played a key role as Wrexham opened the scoring. Hughes used her strength and pace to race inside the area before squaring to Amber Lightfoot who tapped home.
The Nomads looked for an instant response and got their reward as Kirstie Kural found space to shoot in the final third and her effort deflected off a Wrexham defender and looped into the back of the net, levelling the game at 1-1.
The Nomads then took the lead on the 20 minute mark and it was the Captain who was on target again. Kural’s corner was cleared at the front post but the midfielder was able to retrieve possession and fire a terrific curling strike past Morgan.
The goals were coming thick and fast as The Nomads then extended their lead thanks to an outrageous goal from Tegan Hewitt. Tamara Hamer’s pass into Hewitt allowed the attacker to cut onto her right foot and find the far corner with a powerful shot, grabbing her first Nomads goal in emphatic style.
As we neared half time, Wrexham were awarded a penalty by the referee, giving the hosts the chance to half the deficit before the break. Rosie Hughes stepped up and luckily for the striker, her effort trickled past Meg Robinson despite the goalkeeper getting a hand to the ball.
The Second Half
There was a stoppage in play right at the start of the second half as Nomads goalkeeper Meg Robinson was involved in a nasty collision after rushing out to collect the ball. After receiving treatment, Robinson was up on her feet and was able to continue with play.
A swift counter attack from The Nomads nearly saw them restore their three goal cushion over Wrexham after Sienna Strapp was spotted out wide, allowing the youngster to deliver an inviting ball aimed towards Tamara Hamer who was just beaten to it by Delyth Morgan.
The game then turned into a very tight encounter with The Nomads staying strong in defence whilst still looking the more threatening on the attack. Both backlines were doing their jobs, cancelling out a number of set plays as we reached midway through the second half.
It was looking evident that both sides were looking to open up their opponents by catching them on the break and The Nomads came so close to doing so after a brilliant one-two between Sienna Strapp and Polly Wild-McGregor enabled Strapp with a chance to make it four but her shot was saved by Morgan.
Wrexham found their equaliser to make it 3-3 in the 84th minute after Emily Luke’s clearance fell back out to Tonicha Dickens whose left footed strike from distance went off the crossbar and into the back of the net, meaning a penalty shootout was just five minutes away.
Neither side were able to find a late winner and a penalty shootout was the outcome after a thrilling 90 minutes. The latter stages of the match saw both sides look to utilise their wide areas to pose an attacking threat but solid defensive displays meant the scoreline stayed level.
The Shootout
17 year old Lili Jones stepped up first for the hosts and was denied by Nomads goalkeeper Meg Robinson who made a superb save with her leg to get the all important advantage straight from the off.
Kirstie Kural had already found the net on two occasions during the 90 minutes and was on target again in the shootout as she calmly converted her penalty past Morgan.
Wrexham’s star striker Rosie Hughes then stepped up and sneaked her penalty pas Robinson despite the goalkeeper almost tipping the effort away.
Last weekend’s standout performer, Meg Andrews took The Nomads’ second penalty and sent her shot wide of the target, meaning the scoreline was now level.
Tonicha Dickens and Emily Bentley both scored their spot kicks before Rebecca Pritchard and Ella Harvey also fired home to set up a nervy sudden death ending to the shootout.
Wrexham’s top scorer Amber Lightfoot made no mistake from twelve yards out with Tamara Hamer emulating her opponent by also scoring from the spot.
Another youngster stepped up for Wrexham, this time it was Mia Roberts’ turn and her penalty was a great height for Meg Robinson who made a tremendous save to send The Nomads just one kick away from the next round of the NEWFA Cup.
It was Polly Wild-McGregor to take for The Nomads and the U19 star remained calm under pressure to send a terrific penalty into the corner, leaving Morgan no chance of the save, seeing Nomads players run off in celebratory fashion, knowing they secured a place in the next round of the NEWFA Cup as the quest to retain trophy continues.
