Key talking points as Penybont shock champions Connah’s Quay Nomads in well-fought 2-0 victory
10/04/2021 - Connah's Quay Nomads 0-2 Penybont © Nikitas Mesney
Penybont began their Championship Conference campaign by denting Connah’s Quay Nomads’ hopes of regaining the Cymru Premier title with a fantastic display at Deeside Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
A calmly-taken penalty kick and a late counter-attack meant Rhys Griffiths’ side beat a top-three team for the first time this season.
Captain Kane Owen stepped up to take the lead from the penalty spot, and substitute Kostya Georgievsky finished superbly at the near post with 10 minutes left to play.
The loss was the Nomads’ first home league defeat since March 2019.
Shock result or just a matter of time?
The main criticism of Penybont this season has been their inability to get results against the top-three. In the six games they played against the sides in Phase One, they picked up only one point.
They were, however, unlucky in some of these games.
Take, for example, their 5-1 loss against Bala Town in September. Penybont were 1-0 up at half-time and were dealt with a huge blow with captain Kane Owen getting red-carded just before the break, and they conceded five in the second half.
They also would have felt hard done by in their 2-1 loss away against The New Saints in December. They took the lead through Ben Ahmun before conceding a scrappy equaliser and an unfortunate own-goal by Daniel Jefferies. They missed opportunities to level the game, and had a goal ruled out for being offside late on.
Against the Nomads, for the most part, Bont were on top, and fully deserved to take the three points.
They will now hope they can continue this form, with hopes of a Europe in sight.
Nomads lose top-spot
Following The New Saints’ 1-0 victory away to Bala Town on Saturday evening, Connah’s Quay have lost their top-spot status.
A 14-game unbeaten run which helped Andy Morrison’s side regain first-place has now come to an end.
They do, however, play TNS twice again in the final weeks of the league campaign, so it’s still all to play for.
Dan Jefferies solid defensively
Ex-Swansea City academy defender Dan Jefferies’ impact on the victory was paramount.
Playing in the left of a back-three, Jefferies commanded the back line and superbly dealt with the Nomads’ aerial bombardment.
Still only 22-years-old, the central-defender has been a mainstay in the side this season, having played all 23 games so far.
With leadership qualities beyond his years, his importance to the Penybont side is colossal.
Nomads dominant for spells
For around 25 minutes after half-time, the Nomads were constantly applying pressure to the Penybont defence.
Miss-hit headers, disallowed goals and the woodwork denied Andy Morrison’s side from equalising.
On another day, they may have drawn level with half an hour left to play, where they would have been confident of going on to win the game.
Ashley Morris MOTM
Ashley Morris heroically kept Penybont in the game throughout.
He commanded the box fantastically, often coming off his line to claim high balls.
Morris acrobatically denied a near-certain Michael Wilde header which was destined to ripple the back of the net.
