The Nomads vs Newtown AFC by Connah's Quay Nomads FC

OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME Â£2

THE NOMADS vs NEWTOWN AFC Dafabet Welsh Premier League Sunday, 28th August, 2016 - 3:00pm

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

WHO’S WHO Honorary Club Patrons Lord Barry Jones, Roger Speed Life Presidents Richard Jones, Bill Dudley

DEESIDE STADIUM Coleg Cambria Kelsterton Road Connah’s Quay Deeside Flintshire CH5 4BR

Chairman Gary Dewhurst

Ground Capacity 1500

Vice Chairman John Gray

Matchday Telephone 01244 816418

Club Secretary and Licensing Officer Trevor Green First Team Manager Andy Morrison Assistant Manager & Director of Football Jay Catton Club Doctor Dr. Brian Johnson Club Consultant Chartered Physio Ashley James Goalkeeping Coach Neil Ebbrell Head of Logistics Mal Latter Emergency Aid Officer Colin McGivern (Events Medical Team) Matchday Sports Therapist Gemma Bamford Matchday Physio Matt Steel Media Officer Nik Mesney Supporters Liaison Officer Will Catterall Hospitality Roma Gray

CLUB HONOURS League of Wales League Cup 1996 Europa League Play Off Winners 2016 Welsh Intermediate Cup 1981 Welsh Amateur Cup 1953 North Wales Coast FA Cup 1994 North Wales Intermediate Cup 1981 North Wales Amateur Cup 1952, 1953, 1955 Welsh Youth Cup 1948 North Wales Coast FA Youth Cup 1986, 2009 Cookson Cup 1988 Barritt Cup 1995 Clwyd League 1980, 1981 Clwyd League Challenge Cup 1981 President’s Cup 1981 Huws Gray Alliance League 2011, 2012 Welsh Premier League U19 2013 U19 National College Champions 2015, 2016

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

MATCHDAY PARKING Players, playing staff, matchday staff and fans are allowed to park on the Coleg Cambria grounds where designated parking spaces are outlined. Please note that vehicles parked in non-allocated parking spaces may be subject to a fine or clamping.

EVACUATION PROCEDURE In the event of an emergency requiring the evacuation of the whole or part of the stadium, spectators are requested to leave the stadium by the identified exits. These will be identified in the evacuation announcement. Stewards will assist the evacuation.

GROUND SAFETY In the interest of safety, spectators are asked to co-operate with the Club Stewards in keeping all gangways and emergency exits clear. In the interest of safety, spectators are asked to co-operate with the Club Stewards in keeping all gangways and emergency exits clear. Spectators are reminded that they must observe all ground regulations. Persistently ignoring these regulations may lead to possible further action by the club, including, but not limited to, the withdrawal of any ticket (without reimbursement) and other benefits.

PUBLIC ADDRESS SYSTEM (Ground Safety Announcements) All ground safety announcements will be made on the public address system. Spectators are asked to listen carefully to those announcements and follow any instructions given.

EDITOR’S WELCOME

Good afternoon and welcome to Deeside Stadium for our first league game at Deeside. It seems like forever since we've had a competitive home game, with our last one being the famous victory over Airbus. I'm really looking forward to today's game as I know it will provide a good game - games between The Nomads and Newtown have always been good down the years, so I have no doubt that will continue today with both sides looking to continue their good starts to the campaign. Last week's performance at Bangor was great, as was the performance at Carmarthen... the goals just wouldn't come at Richmond Park but they did at Bangor and we perhaps should have won by more, but we've had a very solid start in my opinion. Today's programme features more great archive content from Dave Rapson, along with our usual staple content from Trevor and Will. Next week's programme might feel a little light, as our printers are on summer shutdown, so I've already sent them the artwork! Come on The Nomads! Nik

Editor and Designer Nik Mesney Contributors Andy Morrison Jay Catton Will Catterall Trevor Green Nik Mesney Mark Rowlands Gary Dewhurst David Rapson

© All editorial in this programme is the copyright of gap Connah’s Quay Nomads FC and shall not be reproduced without permission. Content correct at time of print. The views of the individual contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the Club.

CONTENTS

8 10

14 16

20 22

WELCOME BACK TO DEESIDE STADIUM A look at today's game and the next time we are here in the Welsh Premier League

NOMADS OFF THE MARK AT BANGOR Match report from The Nomads' 2-0 victory at Bangor City

NOMADS START WITH A POINT AT RICHMOND PARK Match report from The Nomads' 0-0 opening day draw at Carmarthen Town

NOMADS BEAT FLINT IN FINAL FRIENDLY Match report from The Nomads 4-0 victory over Flint Town United

A VIEW FROM THE STAND Will Catterall gives his thoughts on the opening few fixtures of the league

GREEN'S PIECE Club Secretary Trevor Green looks at today's fixture

THE NOMADS ARCHIVE David Rapson looks back at the 1998/99 season on Deeside

NEWTOWN CLUB HISTORY A look at the back story of the team from Latham Park

NEWTOWN PEN PICS Check out the squad and management of Newtown

PLAYER STATISTICS Appearances and goals for The Nomads in the 2016/17 campaign

NOMADS PEN PICS Whos' who in The Nomads first team squad

FIXTURES AND RESULTS Full match information for the 2016/17 season

FIRST TEAM STAFF A look at the team behind the team at Deeside Stadium

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

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MATCH PREVIEW

Our home campaign starts today Welcome to Deeside Stadium for The Nomads' first home fixture of the 2016/17 Dafabet Welsh Premier League campaign. The Nomads will be coming into today's game full of confidence having remained unbeaten and having not conceded a goal thus far in the season following an opening day draw at Carmarthen and a 2-0 victory at Bangor last Sunday. Newtown will also come into the game in good form, sitting one place above The Nomads in the early league standing on goal difference alone following a 0-0 draw with Bala and a 4-2 victory over Carmarthen last weekend. The last time that the two sides met, Newtown ended The Nomads hope of automatic European qualification with a 3-2 victory at Latham Park, but our last encounter at Deeside saw The Nomads win 1-0 thanks to a Callum Morris penalty. Ahead of the game, Andy Morrison said "A very warm welcome to Chris Hughes and all associated with Newtown. Today's fixture will be a great test and one I am looking forward to. Over the last 2-3 seasons, Newtown have gone under the radar a touch and put together a very strong squad - unlike us, they are now a firmly established top six side and having watched them beat Carmarthen last Saturday and be very unlucky against Bala not to win, I have no doubt that come the end ofthe season, if a team finish above Newtown, it will be in a European position. Our clean sheet against Bangor was our fourth in a row in the league and we also went over four hours in Europe without conceding a goal, so we are doing things right at that end of the pitch. Morrison concluded; "We are working hard in training on the offensive side of our play and we began to see the results of that at Bangor, and if we continue to work hard and maintain the same levels of intensity and focus we have shown in our first two games we will be a tough team to beat."

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

MATCH REPORT

The Nomads celebrate Wes Baynes' stunning opener

Bangor City

The Nomads

Baynes (3'), Morris (22') Dafabet Welsh Premier League | Sunday 21st August 2016 Bangor University Stadium, Bangor | Attendance: 652

Nomads off the mark at Bangor

The game began and it couldn’t have started any better for The Nomads, who scored after three minutes. From a free kick 35 yards out, Wes Baynes stepped up and perfectly arrowed a strike beyond Connor Roberts in the Bangor goal.

The Nomads secured their first win of the 201617 Dafabet Welsh Premier League campaign with a 2-0 victory at Bangor City. First half goals from Wes Baynes and Callum Morris were enough for The Nomads to take all three points on the Sunday afternoon.

Boosted by their early lead, The Nomads enjoyed the majority of possession in the opening stages. Baynes sent a cross into the Bangor area where Tom Field sent a tame shot towards goal, with 'keeper Roberts dealing with it comfortably. The hosts were setback by The Nomads’ early lead but far from stunned, with two corners earned by Bangor in the sixth and seventh minutes, dealt with by Disney and Danby respectively.

With Ian Kearney and Danny Harrison suspended, The Nomads announced a lineup including John Disney and Tom Field, who was making his league debut for the club. Les Davies started on the bench for The Nomads along with goalkeeper Jack Wynne who had been called up to the matchday squad.

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

Callum Morris was the scorer of The Nomads’ second goal, which would have came earlier for The Nomads had his low diving header on 12 minutes not hit Connor Roberts' right post. The Nomads

were then dealt a blow when George Horan went down after a challenge with an injury to his ankle, and despite coming back onto the field he was replaced by Matty Owen on 19 minutes. This substitution came seconds before Morrisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; goal on 22 minutes as Nathan Woolfe sent a cross to the back post, where Morris met the ball with a firm volley into the Bangor goal to give The Nomads a two goal lead. Recent signing Matty Williams played an active part in the game, nearly sending Nathan Woolfe through on goal with the pass just beyond The Nomads' winger. Williams was again involved just before half time when he nearly sent a header towards goal from inside the Bangor area, him and Wilde just missing out on the aerial assist. Following three minutes of injury time during which Callum Morris had a shot blocked, the Nomads went in with their 2-0 lead intact at half time. The second half was again met with an action packed start, when following a blocked shot for Jamie Reed of Bangor, Michael Wilde was brought down inside the Bangor area by Connor Roberts, forcing the referee to give a penalty. Callum Morris stepped up and shot low to the left only to see his effort saved well by Roberts, who had kept his side in the game with over 30 minutes left for The Citizens to try and reduce the deficit. Bangor had more chances following this lifeline, seen via the likes of Jamie Reed and new signing Henry Jones, who sent long range efforts at various intervals that were either just shy of the target or dealt with by Danby. Perhaps the home side's biggest chance of the game came in the 69th minute when Brayden Shaw sent an effort just yards out from The Nomadsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; goal, but it would not have counted regardless thanks a raised offside flag. Changes were rung as the game entered its closing stages, with Les Davies coming on for Michael Wilde and Jay Owen, who forced off with a head injury, was replaced by Sean Smith. Bangor were then reduced to ten men, when Christian Langos was shown a straight red card by referee David Morgan for a rash tackle on Nathan Woolfe. For the remaining eight minutes, and four extra of injury time, The Nomads did well to contain play and retain possession with some great movement on the wing from the likes of Smith and Woolfe, the latter who may have scored in the final minute, going 20 yards out from the Bangor goal to shoot just over.

MATCH STATS Bangor City: C.Roberts, Gossett (Miley), Jones, Clowes, Davies, G.Roberts, Reed, Shaw, Nardiello (Langos), Young (Bradley), Kpohmouh The Nomads: Danby, Baynes, Horan (M.Owen), Disney, Short, Field, Williams, Morris, J.Owen (Smith), Woolfe, Wilde (Davies) Goalscorers: Yellow Cards: Red Cards:

The Nomads - Baynes, Morris Bangor City: G.Roberts The Nomads: Short, Field Bangor City: Langos

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

MATCH REPORT

A goalmouth scramble follows a Lewis Short throw in

Carmarthen Town

The Nomads

Dafabet Welsh Premier League | Saturday 13th August 2016 Richmond Park, Carmarthen | Attendance: 377

Nomads start with a point at Richmond Park The Nomads drew to Carmarthen Town in their first game of the Dafabet Welsh Premier League 2016-17 campaign. Despite the live televised game being full of attacking play from both sides, it ended goalless. It was a much anticipated match as The Nomads' Welsh Premier opener following an impressive pre season during which they reached the Second Qualifying Rounds of the UEFA Europa League and had only lost one of their five pre season friendlies.

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

A strong lineup was named with the likes of Michael Wilde, Les Davies and recent signing Matty Williams leading the line. Carmarthen announced an equally solid team including their new captain and former Aberystwyth man Lee Surman. The game began and The Nomads immediately threatened the Carmarthen goalmouth, when Nathan Woolfe sent a dangerous cross into the area which was cleared. Woolfe continued to cause Carmarthen problems, with another cross headed just wide by Michael Wilde in the twelfth minute. It was then the turn of debutant Matty Willams, who sent a great half volley wide from a flick on assist by Wilde. The Nomads showed no sign of halting their pressure on Carmarthen with George Horan having a shot blocked before Matty Williams had a header go wide.

Controversy then ensued when Lee Surman made a late challenge on Michael Wilde in the home side's half. Referee Dean John deliberated over the decision before awarding Surman a yellow card. As the half went on, The Nomads were dominating play but without being able to break the deadlock. Wes Baynes sent a curling effort just off target, before Lewis Short nearly sent Woolfe through with a long distance throw. Despite their efforts, the deadlock could not be broken before half time but The Nomads had reason to be confident after an impressive first 45 minutes of their season. In the second half, The Nomads again looked to break down Carmarthen with Morris heading over the goal on 47 minutes. Carmarthen then had one of their first real chances of the game when Declan Carroll sent a 20 yard effort on target with Danby holding the shot. Matty Williams then got in a great position on the edge of the Carmarthen area, before flicking the ball to Woolfe who shot just off target. Although they had not seen much of The Nomads' area, Carmarthen started to show more flair upfront. Liam Thomas ran close to a long ball on 62 minutes, with Danby collecting it well. The games biggest moment then came when Ian Kearney was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Liam Thomas. Kearney stopped Thomas who was almost through on goal just outside The Nomads' area, with Dean John sending him off and reducing The Nomads to ten men with more than 25 minutes to play. The resulting free kick was well taken by Harling but saved by Danby. Boosted by their one man advantage, Carmarthen now looked a confident side, making for a tough closing period of the game. After Kearney's sending off, John Disney replaced Nathan Woolfe as The Nomads looked for a late win, with Lewis Short cutting into the area, only for Carmarthen to break with the danger cleared by George Horan in an end to end finish to the game. After Ashley Ruane replaced Michael Wilde, the game culminated in a golden chance for Carmarthen which may well have won them the game. Substitute Mark Jones received the ball from 30 yards out, and got past The Nomads defence only to send his shot skywards. After three minutes of injury time the game ended and the Nomads went away with one point despite having looked like they'd take all three for large parts of the game.

MATCH STATS Carmarthen Town: Idzi, Vincent (Knott), Sheehan, Morgan, Bailey, Surman, Carroll (Bassett), M.Thomas (Jones), L.Thomas, Harling, Lewis The Nomads: Danby, Baynes, Horan, Kearney, Short, Williams, Morris, J.Owen, Woolfe (Disney), Wilde (Ruane), Davies Yellow Cards:

Carmarthen Town - Sheehan, Surman The Nomads - Morris

Red Cards:

The Nomads - Kearney

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

MATCH REPORT

Michael Wilde celebrates as his second half header hits the net

The Nomads

Davies (24'), Wilde (53'), Ruane (61'), Short (85')

Flint Town United

Pre Season Friendly | Tuesday 9th August 2016 Deeside Stadium, Connah's Quay | Attendance: 110

Nomads beat Flint in final friendly The Nomads ended their pre season of 2016 with a 4-0 win over local rivals Flint Town United on Tuesday night. Les Davies sent The Nomads ahead in the 24th minute, before Michael Wilde, Ashley Ruane and Lewis Short ensured victory in the second half. The friendly was organised at short notice with the help of Flint Town United, after traffic forced a friendly against Caernarfon Town to be called off on the previous Saturday. Both sides were 10

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

looking to get their final run out before the Welsh domestic season starts on the weekend, with The Nomads making the trip down to Carmarthen Town in a live S4C match for a 5:15pm kick off. The game began and it was The Nomads who took hold of the majority of possession, a trend which would remain throughout the game despite Flint proving tough to break down. Les Davies sent a header through to goal on five minutes, but the effort was easily saved by 'keeper Ben Jones. Lewis Short proved a handful for the away defence, not only with his long throw ins, but also when he sent a wicked cross into the Flint area which just missed out on a home attacker.

PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY Following continuous attacks on the away end, Les Davies sent The Nomads ahead in the 24th minute. From a Nathan Woolfe corner, Davies headed the ball low into the goal to score from yards out. The Nomads kept the pressure on Flint until half time, before which, Wes Baynes sent a low shot just wide from 20 yards out. Nathan Woolfe sent a cross into the box in the 43rd minute which triggered a melee at the goalmouth before Callum Morris hit a shot across the face of goal which was cleared. In the second half, The Nomads once again took control and doubled their lead in the 53rd minute. Michael Wilde met a Nathan Woolfe free kick to head into the net with his debut Deeside goal. Substitutions saw Sean Smith come off for Tom Field, with Michael Wilde exiting the field for Ashley Ruane shortly after his goal. Ruane had his effect on the game almost immediately, scoring in the 61st minute to send his side 3-0 up. During a great attacking movement, Nathan Woolfe broke free to have his shot blocked by the Flint 'keeper only for the ball to fall to Ruane, who was on hand to slot the rebound into the empty net. Although they trailed by three goals to nil, Flint still threatened The Nomads, sending a dangerous free kick towards Danby in the 70th minute, who held the ball well despite a spin on the shot. Callum Morris was then substituted for Nick Rushton, with the final substitution of the game seeing Sean Smith reintroduced in place of Jay Owen. The final goal of the game was perhaps the best as it showed the cool composure of summer signing Lewis Short. A chipped ball from Tom Field meant that Short received the ball on a half volley around 14 yards from the goal - he controlled the ball before slotting the ball past the far left of the 'keeper with the outside of his left foot to score in the 85th minute. Referee John Jones brought the game to its close to end a positive conclusion to The Nomadsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; pre season campaign.

MATCH STATS The Nomads: Danby, Baynes, Disney, Harrison, Smith (Short), Woolfe, J.Owen, Morris (Field), Short, Wilde (N.Rushton), Davies Goalscorers: The Nomads - Davies, Wilde, Ruane, Short

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

A VIEW FROM THE STAND

BY WILL CATTERALL Hello and welcome to a view from the stand, where the Dafabet Welsh Premier League has finally returned to Deeside. Today we get the chance to properly kick things off at home – but our season is already in full swing. There’s no chance you’re here today and haven’t heard about our summer. So put simply, we made waves so big in Europe that people are talking us up as title contenders in Wales. We’ve certainly got a strong squad and an incredible manager to go with it – but in a league as competitive as ours, we must take it one game at a time and firstly secure the top six. Our visitors today are a top team who secured and won in Europe last summer, only to lose out in the play-offs and stay at home this year. That’s how tight it gets, so we have to keep working hard and keep our heads down. This was proved by our league opener two weeks ago, where we dominated away at Carmarthen – who Newtown beat 4-2 last week - but just couldn’t find that vital goal and had to settle for a point. Last week the goals did come, and we secured our first win away at Bangor in what was again a tough game, but we came out of it quite comfortable in the end. It’s always a difficult ride against Newtown and it will be today. Our last game against them saw a Newtown win which spoiled our chances of automatic Europa League qualification. In their last visit to Deeside, we won 1-0 – but in last season’s phase one they did double over us winning 2-0 away and 4-2 at home. In terms of fixtures, we’re back on the road on the Wednesday of next week playing Druids – but, and this is a deliberate interval to make sure you know – it will be played at The New Saint’s ground due to Cefn Druids’ 3G pitch installation. We then play Bala at home and Cardiff Met away before we hit a run of six consecutive home fixtures, which will hopefully drum up a good level of support each week. There’s been a smile on everyone’s face at the club for some months now, so enjoy the game and with some luck it will still be there when the 90 minutes are up. Nomads Ultras Prediction: The Nomads 2-1 Newtown Nomads Ultras' Player of the Week: Wes Baynes This man’s name will forever be indented into the Nomads history as the scorer of the €200,000 goal that got us into Europe, and he has continued to get on the score board with as a good a free kick you’ll see at Bangor last week, his second free kick goal at their ground. A constant in the starting line up since he joined us, Baynes is ever effective and we’re sure you’ll see why today. 12

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

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GREEN'S PIECE

BY TREVOR GREEN Good afternoon, Welcome to the first home game of a new season and welcome to Newtown. The Robins have had a very good start with a draw against Bala and a win over Carmarthen. Like ourselves they sit on four points, unlike ourselves these come from two home games. We are always pleased to welcome Chris and his staff, their players, committee and supporters. We wish them a pleasant stay and safe journey home. Just to remind all at this start of a new campaign, the players from both teams and the officials go over the car park to the bar/restaurant after the game for a drink and a meal, why not join them, the bar is open to all. Today will see an important occasion, representatives of our local authorities will be present to perform a small but significant activity of civic acknowledgement for our clubs campaign in European Football this Summer. We really did put the town and the Deeside conurbation on the map in a way that only football can, at Cropredy festival recently someone spotted my Nomads polo shirt, came up to me and said that until we played in Europe they thought the only Deeside was in Scotland! So it’s great to see our local councils recognise this work. This is a tough game - Newtown beat us three times out of four last season and the one we won came from a single penalty goal. They are very well organised and have no weaknesses. In Sutton, Mitchell and Oswell they have three of the league’s best individuals and every game against them will be a challenge. It is a real test of potential for both sides. We are in good stead for it, the performance at Bangor last week was impressive, 0-2 really flattered them we could and should have netted five. It was a tough encounter and we lost George Horan and Jay Owen to injury. We ended with no recognised central defender on the pitch and it was pleasing to see the adaptability of our squad who covered so well and gave away nothing. That’s 360 minutes of WPL football without conceding a goal. Ian Kearney returns from suspension this match while Danny Harrison completes his three match ban today, on the injuries front; Michael Pearson should re-join training next week but Chris Rimmer is still a few weeks away. Jay Owen should be ok but as I write we await news on

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

skipper George. We are away against Cefn Druids on Wednesday. Please note this game is at TNS' ground, The Venue, at Park Hall. Druids are laying a 3G surface at The Rock and will be away for the time the work takes. Bala Town are our next visitors on Saturday 5th September and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a rare Saturday for the televised fixture which kicks off at 5:15pm. Important game for both (like so many in this ever strengthening league) and one of seven home games from the next eight. This glut of Deeside fixtures is then followed by five consecutive away games. It is hard to imagine a less balanced and more uneven programme of fixtures. At this level it is astonishing and if the circumstances were not known then looks highly incompetent. However, I know that the league Secretary put the fixtures out to a recognised agency to be produced and that it was having three out of the 12 clubs undergoing the laying of an artificial surface during the first half of the season that has caused the chaos. The problem is that for some clubs, they have the sort of programme we have, whilst others are given a real advantage by playing home one week and away the next. It is not fair and we did complain - we understand why, but in a professional league with lucrative European places the prize it is not acceptable. We are being disadvantaged by the league supporting otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs. It

should not have happened and those without the use of their home ground should have been compelled to ground share whilst it was completed. We welcome Dean John and his team and thank them for their time and expertise. We wish them an incident free match and a safe journey home tonight. Enjoy the game, Trevor

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

NOMADS ARCHIVE

LEAGUE OF WALES 1998/99 BY DAVID RAPSON Following more than half a century of playing football on the famous sloping pitch behind the Halfway House pub, The Nomads moved a few hundred yards along the road to a new stadium at the start of the Club’s seventh season in the League of Wales. After a handful of pre-season friendly matches, our first competitive opponents were Rhayader Town on Saturday 29th August 1998 – 18 years ago this weekend. On a beautiful afternoon a Jamie Hughes hat-trick and a 30-yarder from Andy Thomas ensured The Nomads began life at the Deeside Stadium with a comfortable 4-1 victory. That result, sandwiched between away wins at Rhyl and Bangor, put The Nomads top of the league for the first time ever! Unfortunately our stay at the top was short-lived courtesy of a 3-0 home loss to Barry Town followed by a 6-2 trouncing at Carmarthen a week later. The latter game has lived long in the memory as ‘one of those days’. Skipper Carl Smyth was taken ill during the game and Barry Thomas sent off and we never recovered from the loss of both central defenders. Tabletoppers Aberystwyth Town were the next visitors to Deeside and The Nomads regained some stability with a hard-fought goalless draw before taking a point off both Afan Lido (H) and Inter CableTel (A) in the next two league games. August sunshine gave way to autumn rain resulting in the postponement of our home league clash with Cwmbran Town on 24th October. Signs of drainage problems had come to light a week earlier during the FAW Premier Cup match against Inter CableTel when the pitch cut up badly. The Nomads reached the last day of October having gone eleven league and cup games without a win but a 3-1 success at Conwy United and a draw at Caernarfon Town kept the side in the top six, albeit trailing leaders Barry Town by a dozen points. By virtue of finishing seventh in the previous season, we had qualified for a place in the group stages of the FAW Premier Cup, playing four games up to mid-October as well as two League Cup matches with TNS Llansantffraid. The draw for the third round of the Welsh Cup paired us with Newtown, the game ending 2-2, but thanks to a solitary Jamie Hughes strike in the replay three days later his fifth goal in four games - The Nomads progressed. At Christmas 1998 all the talk was of the playing surface at the new stadium. The inability of the drainage system to cope with anything more than minimal rainfall was causing 16

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

consternation for all concerned. Embarrassed officials were at a loss to find an answer although digging up the whole pitch already appeared to be the only solution. The players hardly knew when or where their next game would be. After playing Afan Lido on 3rd October Nomads’ next ‘home’ league fixture was staged 112 days later on 23rd January – and at Belle Vue, Rhyl! By now, The Nomads had slipped to 13th in the league but with as many as five games in hand on some teams. Another disappointing aspect was the fall in attendances after such a bright start to the campaign. Our first six league and cup games at the Deeside Stadium brought in almost 2,500 spectators with an average gate of 412. But without a game at the new ground between November and February, the fans simply had to find their entertainment elsewhere. Furthermore, we produced 28 matchday programmes during the whole season yet played only 22 home games. Thanks to all the postponements much paper, not to mention words of wisdom, went to waste! On the field of play, matters improved somewhat in February 1999. A 3-1 win at Afan Lido preceded a Welsh Cup game away to Barry Town. Much had been made of the semi-final victory over The Dragons at the back end of the previous season but in the local press The Nomads were given little chance of a repeat performance. Spirits were lifted by the resigning of ‘old boy’ Dave O’Gorman on the eve of the cup-tie, Dave having been a full-time professional with Barry Town and then in the Football League with Swansea City following his first spell with Connah’s Quay. O’Gorman wasn’t available for the match at Jenner Park but The Nomads had the perfect start when Stuart Rain netted after eight minutes. Before the interval Jamie Hughes was shown his second yellow card of the game but we held on to record a famous victory. In keeping with the whole season, the side then went another six games in league and cup without a win including a Welsh Cup quarter-final replay loss away to Inter CableTel. Towards the end of March the team had slipped into the bottom four only a single point away from the relegation places but a 3-1 win over Haverfordwest County and then a 4-2 success against bottom side Holywell Town eased relegation fears. O’Gorman had returned to the side against Cwmbran Town and scored the goal in a 2-1 defeat but six further appearances up to the beginning of April failed to bring him another goal. Drier weather in the early spring had rendered the Deeside Stadium pitch rutted and bumpy and ball control was difficult. Home supporters were unfairly getting on the players’ backs and the general atmosphere was one of discontent. Reaching the Welsh Cup final twelve months earlier and then playing at a new stadium had raised everyone’s hopes but the weather had played a large part in the club’s unhappy season. In order to complete the league programme before the end of April 1999, The Nomads had to play 13 league matches in the space of 40 days, a tall order for semi-professionals several of whom were shift workers. Admittedly nine of those games were at home but that meant struggling on a playing surface that hardly resembled a bowling green. Nevertheless, a Dave O’Gorman hat-trick helped the side to a 6-2 win against Rhyl, a Steve Futcher goal was enough to beat Cwmbran Town and the season culminated with a 3-2 success against Newtown – the sixth time the two sides had met during the season in three different competitions. Both goalkeeper Phil Collister and right back Andy Thomas featured in all 32 league games, the latter playing in every one of the team’s 46 league and cup matches while Jamie Hughes bagged 24 goals in his 41 appearances. Those late victories pushed Nomads up to 12th place in the final league table with 38 points and a goal difference of only minus three – a creditable return for such a season of struggle against both the opposition and the elements. The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

The Nomads celebrate Wes Baynes' stunning early strike Photo: NCM Media

BANGOR CITY The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

-2

THE NOMADS Baynes (3'), Morris (22') The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

NEWTOWN'S HISTORY

Newtown Football Club is one of the oldest clubs in Wales, being formed in 1875 and is one of the founder members of the F.A.W. In addition being one of the founder members of the League of Wales, now known as the Welsh Premier. The club have a long and proud tradition with the move in the late 1980’s into the Northern Premier League being part of the progressive nature of the club. Way back in 1877, Newtown took part in the first ever Welsh Cup tie on Saturday 13th October against Druids of Ruabon. Newi Cefn Druids now members of the Welsh Premier are derived from this club. Wrexham went on to win the competition but in the following season, Newtown Whitestars beat the favourites Wrexham 2-1 at Oswestry and in fact were the first club to receive the famous trophy which has only been purchased a few months earlier. Over the years the club have played at a number of but the officers and general committee of the late 1940’s took the decision to purchase and construct a new playing headquarters at a site to be called ‘LATHAM PARK’. This decision was a farsighted one, and the present board officers, committee, supporters and players owe much to their counterparts of some 60 years ago. During the past seasons, many ground improvements have been made. The Control Techniques stand has 420 covered seats with dressing rooms for the club and the community use. A further stand has been constructed at the Llanidloes Road end of the ground and the old stand has been improved with new seating as well as new ‘dug out’ facilities. The ground is named Latham Park to honour a local sporting hero Captain George LATHAM who played for Liverpool, Stoke City and Cardiff City being capped twelve times for Wales at the start 20

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

of the century. He joined Cardiff as a player in 1911 and played a major role in the development of the club and their entry into the Football League. He later became the Cardiff City trainer and held this position when Cardiff had their historic F.A. Cup victory over Arsenal in 1926/27. During the 2004/05, the clubhouse was extended with the building of a new function room with a 200 capacity. This coupled with upgrading of floodlights and a new pitch draining system results in a ground and social facility to equal and in nonleague football. Most recent addition in Oct 2009 is a magnificent new media room with balcony which also acts as an exclusive sponsors lounge on club match days. In early 2004, the club was awarded the prestigious UEFA Licence being the first Welsh Premier club to receive this major award. During the last 11 years, the club have hosted not only our own UEFA cup ties against Skonta Riga (1996) and Wisla Krakow (1998 but a host of other games including U21 Internationals, full ladies Internationals, Champion League and UEFA ties for other Welsh Premier Clubs as well as full U15 and U18 Internationals.The Welsh Cup final has been hosted on two occassions at the ground The ground is currently sponsored by Mid Wales Leisure and is known as Mid Wales Leisure Latham Park. Newtown enjoyed success in the Welsh Premier finishing runner up on two occasions enabling the club to venture in to European Football. Only five managers have managed the club since the formation of the Welsh Premier, Brain Coyne (19922004), Roger Preece (2004-2006), Darren Ryan (2006 to 2010), Andy Cale (2010/11) and Bernard McNally (2011-to date)

Darren Ryan continued as first team manager during the 2009/2010 season as the club battled to stay in the league under its new structure for 2010/1011. Newtown finished outside the top 12 but were given a 11th hour reprieve when Rhyl failed to gain their Domestic Licence and their place was awarded to the Latham Park club. Manager Ryan and his assistant Rhys Stephens both resigned a week ahead of the new season and the club moved swiftly to tempt former The New Saints Manager Dr Andy Cale out of retirement to take the reins. Cale named former Bangor City and Colwyn Bay Manager Lee Williams as his assistant and was introduced to his squad before kick off against Northwich Victoria just a week before the new season kicked off. After being near the bottom of the league, the Robins finished on a great run to secure 9th position but Cale and Williams resigned to leave Newtown to welcome former Northen Ireland International and ex West Brom and Shrewsbury player Bernie McNally as its new boss with Academy Director Pete Carter stepping up as his assistant. After a difficult season the club finished bottom but reached the final of the Loosemores Cup losing to Afan Lido on penalties but financial problems at Neath saw the Robins survive again to keep their place within the top tear of Welsh Football. McNally's second season in charge saw a much improved performance finishing in 9th position. Bernard McNally started the season as manager of the first team with Lee Stephens manager of the reserves. But when Shrewsbury Town came calling for McNally, he left to become head of youth for the Shrews. His replacement was named as Chris Hughes, assistant manager of Prestatyn Town.

Hughes led his side into the league's Europa League play-offs going down to Bangor City 1-0, however in his second full season he delivered success. The Robins lost 2-0 to The New Saints in the Welsh Cup Final at a packed out Latham Park, before two weeks later securing a place in the Europa League and Mid Wales footballing history by leading Newtown into Europe for the first time in 17 years, beating Aberystwyth Town in the play-off final. In addition the club runs a number of Junior teams ranging from U8â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to U19â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. The Junior section of the club is known as Newtown Whitestars managed by Junior Development officer Nicky Morris and the club also runs a ladies team and Ladies Academy.

PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS 2015/16 Season 16/04/2016 - Newtown 3-2 The Nomads 27/02/2016 - The Nomads 1-0 Newtown 31/10/2016 - Newtown 4-2 The Nomads 22/08/2016 - The Nomads 0-2 Newtown 2014/15 Season 24/01/2015 - The Nomads 2-3 Newtown 18/10/2014 - Newtown 1-2 The Nomads 2013/14 Season 08/11/2013 - The Nomads 0-4 Newtown 12/10/2013 - Newtown 2-3- The Nomads The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

NEWTOWN'S SQUAD

1. Dave Jones Goalkeeper

3. Stef Edwards Defender

4. Ross Stephens Midfielder

5. Kieran Mills-Evans Defender

6. Shane Sutton Defender

7. Neil Mitchell Striker

9. Luke Boundford Midfielder

10. Jason Oswell Striker

11. Craig Williams Midfielder

13. Jack Perry Goalkeeper

14. Jordan Wells Defender

15. Jamie Price Midfielder

16. Gavin Cadwallader Defender

17. Joe Newton Midfielder

18. Ryan Kershaw Midfielder

19. Craig Williams Defender

20. Tom Goodwin Midfielder

22. Jack Hughes Defender

24. Alex Fletcher Midfielder

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

NEWTOWN'S MANAGEMENT

CHRIS HUGHES - Manager Chris joined the Robins in November 2014 after a successful spell as Neil Gibson's assistant manager at Prestatyn Town. Hughes, formerly assistant at Rhyl, Buckley and Caersws, guided Newtown into the top six last season, and has done so again this campaign, while also leading his side to a Welsh Cup Final. He also guided the club to their first European campaign in 17 years and their first ever Europa League win beating Valletta 4-2 on aggregate. Hughes, who works as a Sports Development Officer for Wrexham Borough Council has also worked for the Welsh Football Trust and his currently taking his Pro-Licence course.

CALLUM MCKENZIE - Assistant Manager Callum has been Assistant Manager at the club for three seasons, working first with Bernie McNally and now Chris Hughes. Callum has over 15 years coaching experience, presently working for Shrewsbury Town FC's Acadmey overseeing part of their youth department. Callum previously worked for Cardiff City FC and Everton FC in the USA.

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

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The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

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The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

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The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

PLAYER STATISTICS ° Indicates player no longer with club

Player

WPL

Europa League

FAW Cup

theWord Cup

Friendlies

A G

2 0

4 0

0 0

1 (1)

2 John Disney

1 (1)

3 0

0 0

3 (1)

Paul Linwood °

0 0

2 0

Ian Kearney

1 0

4 0

0 0

2 (1)

George Horan

2 0

4 0

0 0

2 (1)

Danny Harrison

0 0

3 0

0 0

3 0

7 Tom Field

1 0

0 0

1 (2)

2 1

4 1

0 0

3 0

9 Ashley Ruane

0 (1)

0 0

2 (2)

10 Les Davies

1 (1)

0 (4)

0 0

3 (1)

11 Nick Rushton

0 0

2 (2)

12 Jack Riley °

0 0

0 (1)

14 Kevin Holsgrove

0 0

0 (1)

15 Sean Smith

0 (1)

2 (1)

0 0

2 0

16 Nathan Woolfe

2 0

4 0

0 0

2 (1)

17 Chris Rimmer

0 0

18 Jay Owen

2 0

4 0

0 0

4 0

19 Matty Owen

0 (1)

0 (3)

0 0

2 1

20 Wes Baynes

2 1

4 1

0 0

3 0

21 Lewis Short

2 0

4 0

0 0

3 (1)

22 Michael Wilde

2 0

4 0

0 0

3 (1)

23 Mike Pearson

0 0

26 Ben Nash ¹

0 0

2 (1)

28 Jon Rushton ¹

0 0

4 0

33 Jordan Manley

0 0

Jack Wynne

0 0

¹ Indicates player on loan to another club

John Danby

Callum Morris

The Nomads vs Newtown AFC

THE NOMADS' SQUAD

1. John Danby Goalkeeper

2. John Disney Defender

4. Ian Kearney Defender

5. George Horan Defender

6. Danny Harrison Midfielder

7. Tom Field Midfielder