FC NOMADS 3

CORWEN 1

IT'S been a while in the making, but Corwen are finally back in action.

Danny Jellicoe's side's first game of 2018 - and their first competitive game since December 2 - saw them face a trip to Wepre Park to take on 2015/16 Wrexham Area League Premier Division champions FC Nomads of Connah’s Quay.

Corwen got off to the worst possible start and they were behind within just 90 seconds.

Harry Massey found the back of the net with a shot from the edge of the box that went into the far corner of the net after Corwen had failed to clear their lines.

Corwen responded and from a free kick, home keeper Ste Holyoak was able to save and this was followed by a shot from Tommy Mutton, which just warmed the keeper gloves.

With nine minutes on the clock, Nomads' Kyle Reid tried his luck with a free kick from the corner of the box, which he sent over the crossbar.

The score was level in the 22nd minute.

Tom Williams played a defence splitting pass to Joe Williams, which enabled the striker to get through on goal and he made no mistake to find the far corner of the net with a great finish.

Four minutes later and Joe Williams went in search of a second goal, but he could only curl the ball over the bar from a free kick.

In the 31st minute, Elystan Hughes was able to block a shot into the box, but the rebound went back to a home player.

His cross headed on to Dave Bryan, who saw his effort go in off the post to restore the home side’s lead.

Three minutes before the break and Corwen lost the ball after a promising attack.

The ball was quickly played forward to Sean Williams, who chipped at goal from distance.

Keeper Danny Jones thought the effort was going over the crossbar, but he could only look on in horror as the ball dropped at the last second and clipped the crossbar on its way into the back of the net.

Corwen were looking for a response in the second half and Joe Williams played Tom Williams in.

He tried to lift the ball over the oncoming Holyoak, who was able to slap the ball back down towards the ground and then collect the ball from Williams' second shot.

At the other end, the hosts tried their luck from a couple of free kicks, with the first one from Kyle Reid going straight into the wall, while the second effort from Mat Roberts went over the bar.

With 25 minutes left to play, the home side were reduced to 10 men.

Sean Williams was shown a straight red card for a crunching challenge on Corwen captain Paul Jones.

The dismissal seemed to galvanise the visitors, who now had further belief that they could get something from the game.

Turning to the 69th minute and Joe Williams raced the keeper to get to a long ball forward.

Hollyoak panicked at the sight of Williams, but he was just about able to get to the ball first.

Two minutes later and Tommy Mutton played a throw in short to Tom Williams, who played a high ball into the box, which nearly dropped into the back of the net.

The next Corwen chance came when Wil Roberts played a free kick into the Nomads' box, which was met by the head of Sion Dolben Hughes and he forced a good save out of the keeper.

Holyoak made another save with quarter-of-an-hour left to play to deny Joe Williams.

Joe Williams and Ryan Billington both stood over the ball from a 25-yard free kick, but it was Williams who opted to take it.

He was able to curl the ball around the wall, but the keeper successfully collected.

With four minutes remaining, Sion Dolben Hughes took a first time shot at goal from outside the penalty area.

The shot took a deflection off a defender and the ball ended up narrowly wide of the post, with Holyoak stranded.

As the game entered the 90th minute, Elystan Hughes played the ball into the Nomads' box, where Paul Jones was waiting to head it towards goal.

But he was unable to get any power behind his effort, which meant it was just catching practice for the home number one.

Five minutes into stoppage time and Wil Roberts played a corner into the box.

The ball was met by a Corwen player, who saw his effort being cleared off the line by a defender.

This was followed by a scramble in the box, which eventually resulted in a free kick being awarded to the hosts.

The final whistle confirmed that Danny Jellicoe’s side were not going to get anything from a game they probably deserved a point from.