Connah’s Quay Nomads 1-0 Penybont: Nomads up and running with Owens strike
Connah’s Quay earned their first win of the season as they narrowly defeated Penybont at Deeside Stadium.
Kris Owen’s strike just after the half-hour mark was enough to secure the victory against a well-organised side.
Owen’s strike took the 2019/20 Cymru Premier champions to fourth in the table whilst Penybont dropped to tenth after earning two draws in their opening two fixtures.
The Nomads, who were missing key personnel welcomed Craig Curran back into the side and he was influential in the match, posing a number of problems for the visitors defence.
Four players were absent on Thursday due to three returning positive COVID-19 tests whilst another had displayed mild symptoms, whilst George Horan was sidelined through injury.
The home side began the game on the front foot with them having the majority of the possession.
The first chance of the match fell to the Nomads when Craig Curran hit a well driven cross which found Declan Poole who had a shot from close range and rattled the crossbar.
A rare first-half mistake from the Penybont backline then allowed Kris Owens a chance to hit a cross but he couldn’t find anyone with the ball.
The returning Curran also had a great chance after he met a cross with a header but he couldn’t break the deadlock for the home side.
Nomads continued to apply the pressure and they were then rewarded for their patience on the half-hour mark.
In a route-one-goal goal, keeper Lewis Brass hit a long ball forward to Curran and after teamwork with Aeron Edwards and Kris Owens, the Nomads winger rifled a low driven shot past Ashley Morris in the Penybont net.
There was one more chance for the home side before the break as Danny Davies hit a free-kick into the box which resulted in Sameron Singh-Dool controlling the ball and having a shot but he couldn’t get it on target.
The second half began with the visitors looking the more lively of the two and really up for it.
Penybont had their first real chance when Nathan Wood controlled the ball on the edge of the box but hit straight at Brass.
He followed up with another effort moments later as he danced through the defence to hit a low driven shot in which the goalkeeper got down low to save.
Summer signing Danny Davies tried to seal the game for the hosts with a half-volley which went narrowly over the bar.
The experienced Curran also had a great chance when he headed the ball from a Sameron Singh-Dool corner but they remained in search of an insurance goal.
Late on, Rhys Griffiths’ side Penybont pushed for an equaliser.
Billy Borge had the pick of these chances when he headed just over from a long throw-in by the visitors.
Six minutes of additional time was indicated as a hope for inspiration for the South Walian side.
Despite a long period of injury time, the Nomads managed to complete the task they had done throughout the match which was manage the game well.
On their journey back to South Wales, Rhys Griffiths’s men will still have some positives as they looked very organised in periods and had some good chances to square the game.
Connah’s Quay Nomads: Lewis Brass, John Disney, Callum Roberts (Aron Williams, 72), Priestley Farquharson (C), Declan Poole, Jay Owen, Kris Owens, Craig Curran, Sameron Singh-Dool, Danny Davies, Aeron Edwards.
Goals: Kris Owens 31′
Yellow Cards: Jay Owen 23, Priestley Farquharson 89’
Penybont: Ashley Morris, Kane Owen, Ashley Evans, Dan Jefferies, Mail Davies, Lewis Harling, Nathan Wood, Oliver Dalton, Sam Snaith, Billy Borge, Connor Davies.
Yellow Cards: Connor Davies 7, Billy Borge 34,
See how the Nomads claimed victory over Penybont here:
(Featured Image: Nikitas Mesney)
