GREEN’S PIECE

GREEN’S PIECE BY TREVOR GREEN

Good Evening, Caernarfon Town were here in October for a phase one game that we won by 4-2. Sounds comfortable, but was anything but, with the visitors giving Lewis one of his busiest nights of the campaign. Our visitors did well to confirm a fifth place finish and left it to Newtown, Met and Druids to scramble in. Newtown won that race and in last weeks first game of phase two produced a result that justified their inclusion by winning 2-1 at TNS. As always the Canaries are welcome visitors, in Sean Eardly they have a good manager and his acquisition of Huw Griffiths to work alongside him might prove to be the scoop of the season. Jamie Crowther and Noah Edwards both played for us and are welcomed back along with their colleagues, staff and supporters.

Nomads made the most important signing of our recent history last week. No one has ever had as positive an effect upon this club than Andy Morrison has. He joined us on 2 November 2015. At that time we were on 13 points and second bottom of the League (Jay Catton as care taker manager had got us off bottom the week before with a 4-0 win at Port Talbot). Under his leadership and with the same set of players that were in last place shortly before his arrival, Nomads climbed to their highest ever finish; leading the side to fourth and winning the play off final against Airbus UK Broughton. That giving us the club’s first ever venture into the UEFA Europa League. We have reached the top four on every season he has been here, won the League Cup, The Welsh Cup and beaten Kilmarnock, HJK Helsinki and Stabaek in European competition and reached the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup. His overall record in the League is a sensational played 138, won 78, drew 30 and lost 30. We have netted 240 goals and conceded only 121. In all cup ties we have played 58, winning 37, drawing three, (winning three penalty shoot outs). We lost 18. So Andy’s total competitive record in charge so far is ; Played 196, Won 115, drawn 33 and lost 48. He has seen us rise to 237th out of the 452 clubs recognised by UEFA and we have a Europa co-efficient of 3.250. Long may he continue here.

Tonight is an important game for us. All the games in phase two will be. Saturday’s great win at Barry means that if we win all of our remaining nine league games we will be league champions for the first time. Tonight, Bala entertain The New Saints, they cant both win. A victory for TNS goes a very long way to sealing our Europa League qualification, a win for Bala and ourselves puts us two points clear at the top. Then we face TNS here next Friday night (21st) in front of the Sgorio cameras with an 8pm kick off. Exciting times.

The win at Barry was strange affair. Against eleven men in a wind free first half we coasted at times and Lewis was mostly a spectator. Great build up,no nonsense defending and chances created but not taken. Then nearing half time Kayne McLaggon went in on Declan. We know him not to be that sort of player, but it was a reckless and dangerous tackle and he deservedly saw red. However, he showed his class by apologising to Declan before going away. One up and against ten men

looked good, but during the interval the advance of Storm Ciara arrived. It was backs to the wall for us for most of the half, but we broke to make three good chances that might have given us an easier last quarter of an hour. In reality we never looked like conceding but it was a darn site more difficult than it might have been. Still, we moved nine points clear of the team almost certain to finish fourth, (effectively 10 points if goal difference comes in to play), and that’s a very big deal at this stage.

There have been some late changes to our playing roster in the past few weeks. Striker, Craig Curran joins The Nomads with a wealth of footballing experience having played over 150 games in EFL League One and over 100 games in the Scottish Premiership. Craig started his career at Tranmere Rovers and has gone on to play for the likes of Carlisle United, Morecambe and Rochdale in the English system, which included winning the Football League Trophy in the 2010-11 season with Carlisle. Following this, Craig spent five years in Scotland playing for Ross County, Dundee United and Dundee where he would make over 120 appearances across the SPFL and Scottish Championship. Also signing was Aron Williams from Buckley Town. Williams originally came up through the ranks of The Nomads Academy, winning the Welsh Premier U19s league in 2012 and making his debut for the first team as a second half substitute against Prestatyn in the Welsh League Cup in September 2013. Since leaving Deeside, Williams has been playing in the JD Cymru North making over 60 appearances for The Bucks and netting 20 goals in his time at The Globe. Curran wears 19 and Williams will wear the number 21 shirt.

Leaving is Nathan Woolfe who has signed for Airbus on a permanent basis. He spent a portion of the 2018/19 season on loan at our Deeside neighbours and recently returned on another loan deal, but that the deal has now been made permanent. Woolfe originally joined The Nomads in January 2016 as one of Andy Morrison’s first signings upon his arrival at Deeside and has since made 81 starts in all competitions for The Nomads, scoring on 15 occasions including famously in the 1-0 victory over HJK Helsinki in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers. Good luck in the future Woolfey! We are also likely to send a couple of our most promising youngsters out on loan to gain first team experience.

The Welsh Premier Development team (effectively our second side) sit in second place behind TNS. Our Under 18’s have completed sixteen of their twenty six Welsh National League Reserve and Colts Fixtures. They lead the division with a two point advantage plus a game in hand over Airbus. Two go up into the Reserve division, and with a thirteen point gap back to third placed Cefn Mawr it looks very good. Last Saturday they gained a 3-0 win over Saltney Town Reserves. Tomorrow they play away at Ruthin Town with a 2:30pm kick off. Why not make the short trip to support them, I will be.

Huw Jones referees tonight with Andy Harms and Connor Fowler assisting; Mark Petch is fourth official. We welcome them all and wish for an incident free easy night for them.

Enjoy the game; Trevor