21/02/20 Review: gap Connah's Quay vs The New Saints

gap Connah's Quay 1-0 The New Saints (Welsh Premier League)

Deeside Stadium

Hello folks and welcome to the latest instalment of the nonsense which will be known as "the Daz and Tom weekend of football, beers and mild disasters"- an event that occurs a few times a season, bringing with it a groundhopping sensation, mixed with drunken mishaps and of course a good catch-up with the West Country Warrior. Sit back, relax and read on if you want to see how part one of our double-header took us up to Deeside for a mega showdown in the Welsh Premier League as first place Connah's Quay hosted current champions and usual runaways TNS in what was bound to be a classic... unless the wind had its way!

A mere 180 trip for my Bristolian pal

We left Stafford at half past five knowing that we'd be fighting against the inevitable Friday night traffic and although we didn't particularly struggle along the A41, it did take us a good couple of hours to get to Connah's Quay via Whitchurch and Chester. Alas, we arrived just about in time and wandered in amongst the fairly substantial queue in to the ground and before we knew it we were inside the wonderful and windy Deeside Stadium. As is the usual 'Pint of Football' tradition, I made my pre-match prediction of 0-1 to the visitors- whilst Tom correctly predicted the same scoreline, but in favour of the home side.

Let the games begin

Tom and I have actually been fortunate enough to see this fixture once before, back in October 2016, and it was during one of our most ambitious groundhop weekends to date. Yes, we took on the challenge of visiting four grounds, in four days, watching games in different nations- a trip which saw us fly over to Dublin and scoot up to Dundalk's Oriel Park to see them lift the Irish Premier League, before crossing the border to Belfast in search of Solitude and then we flew back home in time for a drive up to Park Hall- the venue which granted us the chance to see TNS eventually grab a fairly convincing 3-0 win. The trip ended back home in Staffordshire as we spent Halloween night at Keys Park, Hednesford. Of course, this weekend was still going to be a good en, with the Friday night delights of Deeside being followed up by the Saturday afternoon outing to Redditch United's Trico Stadium. We'd also planned a Sunday session at Boldmere St. Michael's to see Villa Women, but a crash on the M6 meant that we instead spent two hours sat in Tom's car listening to podcasts instead.

We also went to an Emo Night in Stafford... absolute troopers

Anyway, back to the game here in Wales and the game started with the Nomads on the front foot and taking full-advantage of the gusts that practically acted as a wall preventing TNS from being able to enter the Connah's Quay half. I'd honestly say that there was more time in which the ball was out of play for a throw-in than actually in the field of play, but this certainly seemed to suit the hosts as they hoped to eventually capitalise on one of them and grab the opener. There was also plenty of early stoppages from the initial frostiness of some of the players which meant the Referee had plenty of fouls to punish in this tense fixture. To put it into context, a win for the Nomads would take them four points clear, whereas a visiting victory would see the Saints leapfrog CQN to take the first place position as they hunt down a ninth straight league title. Ultimately, the occasion of this big match was somewhat tampered by the weather, but that didn't stop the excitement from the mighty main stand as on the stroke of half-time Craig Curran stretched out his head to crash home the opening goal of the match, seven minutes into the first-half stoppage time and therefore the PERFECT time to get a goal. The travelled forward from Liverpool, who has played in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, would have been thrilled to get on the score sheet for his new club. Nomads 1-0 Saints.

Time to find some half-time shelter- and beer

At this stage in my write-ups I'd usually attempt to bore you all by describing the fifteen minutes in which I sat in a clubhouse drinking a beer, but on this occasion Tom and I discovered the semi-shameful loophole which is the big screen in the bar showing the match live. Along with many locals, we decided to avoid the rush back outside to the breezy Deeside and instead watched on from the warmth and comfort of the fairly vibrant clubhouse located just around the corner from the ground. Once we'd supped up our pints, we went back out to check that what we were seeing on the screen was real as not only were Connah's Quay holding on, but they also threatened a second goal against the gust- and also their opposition!

We almost resorted to taking shelter to see the game out...

The last Welsh Premier League game I'd taken in was back in November and that Friday night fixture was played in similarly cold circumstances, with a stale 1-1 draw played out between Cardiff Met Uni and Penybont over at the Uni ground- a result that at TNS would ultimately be desperate to achieve as approached stoppage time at Deeside. It wasn't to be, though, and as the full-time whistle blew a shout of relief rang out from the main stand with the Nomads now moving four points clear, with seven games to go, and of course one more match to play against TNS. The final bout between these two will be midway through April and it is bound to be a crucial one as the rest of the top six are the only other teams to have a chance of getting in the way. For the Nomads, they have already had huge season highlights such as beating Scottish Premier League side Killie back in the summer and winning the Welsh League Cup at the start of this month, whilst also still competing in the Welsh Cup, but to be able to lift the league trophy and halt the Saints' dominance would truly be the icing on an already stunning lump of cake.