Woodward knew that this was potentially going to be the toughest game that his young side has come up against on the 3G all season. Earlier in the season he saw his Nomads side go down 3-1 against Sychdyn and knew of their quality from seasons gone.
Even without Hat-trick hero from the first game, Terry Pughe, Sychdyn were always going to be a threat; with quality players like George Thomas, Marc Weir and Tim Hughes.
The first 15 minutes went like clock work for the home side, with Dominic Elsley-McHugh running riot, hitting the bar and forcing some smart saves from the away keeper. Sychdyn were showing signs of their quality on the beak and were forcing some good work out of Zachary Williams and Ben Waddilove at the back, as well as Jordan Manley in goal.
The pendulum of tempo took an abrupt shift when Sychdyn hit a counter attack that sliced right through Nomads, resulting in a fantastic shot that hit both posts and was cleared away by a scrambling Nomads defence. So swift was the counter attack that the referee was too far behind play to see that the ball had gone a yard over the line. At this point the away sign smelt blood, wave after wave of attack resulted in a break through that saw Sychdyn go 1-0 up despite some valiant goalkeeping by Manley.
Nomads looked shell shocked and just kept turning the ball back over to Sychdyn with some very poor passing. It come as as a slight surprise when the game was pulled back to 1-1. I found on the wide right area resulted in a free kick, such was the quality of the delivery from Dom Elsley-McHugh that the ball whipped past everybody and nestled into the corner.
The second half saw a couple of changes with top of the assist chart Ben James returning from injury and the skillful Iwan Rogers entering play.
The second half was much closer than the first half, which after the first 15 was Sychdyns. Nomads carved out some half chances whilst keeping the away side at bay at the back.
Nomads would take the lead through super sub pair Ben James and Iwan Rogers, James providing an excellent pass to Rogers, who battled perfectly against a man twice his size before shifting the ball to the left and reversing the ball into the bottom right to leave the keeper rooted.
The last 15 minutes was about game management for Nomads, Sychdyn were throwing the kitchen sink at the game. Winning corners and dangerous free kicks around the box, Ben Waddilove headers and Jordan Manley fists kept the ball clear as the referee blew his whistle for full time.
In reflection a draw may have been a fairer score with Sychdyn having the better first half and Nomads having the better second. Football isn't always fair though and Nomads shown a gritty and resilient performance, looking leaps and bounds better than their first game vs Sychdyn.
Scorers
Dom Elsley-McHugh
Iwan Rogers (Ben James Assist)
Player of the Match - Jordan Manley
Jordan was an absolute rock for Nomads all game, he was always an option for the ball at the back, relieving pressure of the back 4; whom were being pressed aggressively in the first half.
The last 15 minutes was just a firestorm at his goal as Sychdyn pressed for an equaliser. The away side had a couple of lads standing over 6"0 and crosses galore from corners and free kicks were always a danger, but Jordan was on hand to prevent any more goals going in.
# | Team | Pl | Pts |
1. | CPD Sychdyn | 26 | 64 |
2. | Mynydd Isa Spartans | 26 | 58 |
3. | Cefn Mawr Rangers | 26 | 56 |
4. | GAP Connahs Quay | 26 | 53 |
5. | Offa Athletic | 26 | 53 |
6. | Flint Mountain | 26 | 49 |
7. | Acton FC | 26 | 39 |