Before the Nomads, Connah's Quay FC was founded in 1890 and disbanded after a second Welsh Cup final loss in 1911. Connah's Quay & Shotton was then formed in 1920 and beat Cardiff, featuring several players in the team that beat Arsenal in the 1927 FA Cup Final, in the 1929 Welsh Cup Final. Six months later the club went bust....
The existing club was formed in July 1946 as Connah's Quay Juniors, and a senior team was formed and joined the Flintshire League in 1948. Prior to the 1952/53 season the club's suffix changed to Nomads; the Nomads joined the Welsh League (North) and, despite returning to local leagues for 7 years, rejoined it in 1966. In 1974 the club joined the newly formed Clwyd League and, following 3 successful seasons in the Welsh Alliance, became founder members of the Cymru Alliance in 1990 then the League of Wales two seasons later.
The Nomads, an odd name for a club that had spent 51 seasons at the Halfway Ground, moved after a season of groundsharing at Rhyl to its current home, the Deeside Stadium in 1998. After bereavements and retirements the club was taken over by gap personnel in June 2008 to become gap Connah's Quay Nomads.
2010 saw the club narrowly miss out on the cut off for the Super 12 League - thus the club began the 2010/11 season in the Cymru Alliance which they won the following season but were deprived of promotion after failing to gain a domestic license. Notwithstanding this setback the Nomads were again crowned Cymru Alliance champions in 2013 and this time ascent to the Welsh Premier League was granted.
Stabaek Fotball, the visitors from the Nadderud Stadium, are based in Baerum, voted the best place to live in Norway. The club was established on 16 March 1912 and forms part of the multi sport organisation Stabaek IF.
De Blaa (The
Blue Ones - after their all blue strip) won the Norwegian Cup in 1998 and the
Tippeligaen (Norwegian Premier League) in 2008. After finishing third last
season to qualify for the Europa League, this term sees them lying next to
bottom with 9 defeats in 13 games and pressure mounting on manager Billy
McKinlay - David Moyes' assistant at Real Sociedad.
A glorious
Thursday morning quickly fades to grey as we join the M56, passing the belching
fumes of Stanlow and becalmed wind turbines. Then onto the A55 for fabulous
views of the Great Orme and Snowdonia, we turn off past pretty Rhuddlan Castle
and enter Rhyl.
We park by
Patagonia Avenue, alongside the well kept and attractive Botanical Gardens,
home of Sunny Rhyl Bowls Club, a blizzard of prohibition and warning signs,
muted floral colour and a carved wooden bear. Then past the superbly named Sun
of a Beach tanning salon before emerging by the world famous (?) Rhyl Sun
Centre - now closed (gutted !!) - on the front.
Beyond the
Pavilion Theatre, a quick look at the RNLI lifeboat and views of the glorious
Prestatyn Sands before we return to a quiet Rhyl, surprising given it's the
holiday season, slightly tatty in the centre and with several development
opportunities and sites of partial demolition. One oddity is the 250 ft Rhyl Sky
Tower on the sea front, bizarrely transported from the 1988 Glasgow Garden
Festival, and now cordoned off amidst safety fears.
Then it's
further down the coast to Kinmel Bay, past the Breaks Family Entertainment
Centre which holds no appeal despite the name ! We cross over the impressive
new Pont y Ddraid bridge at Foryd harbour and a walk across Kinmel dunes to the
edge of Towyn - a landscape dominated by vast wind farms in one direction and
huge static caravan parks in the other. Lunch is faggots and a pint of
Beachcomber Blonde. We pass the Wales Crown Green Bowling Centre on the way
back to the ground - but given the overgrown state of one of the greens the
comment of the 'Wembley of Bowls' is rather inapt..........
Belle Vue
holds 3,000 with all bar 300 seated. The main Don Spendlove Stand, named after
Rhyl's 629 goal local legend, houses the majority of fans and UEFA delegates.
At either end are the Lilywhites Legends bar and canteen and the NWPS Stand.
The final stand, with yellow and green seats as opposed to the blue ones
elsewhere in the stadium, is again the Botanical Gardens and houses the away
fans and a TV gantry.
The match
begins in teeming rain with the 40 or so Norwegian fans singing raucously from
behind their Ultras 1912 and Inferno 99 banners. The Nomads are in all red, and
De Blaa naturally in all blue, sponsored by Smartfish Muscle Recharge.....
Their Indian international goalkeeper, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is in all white.
The match is refereed by Johnny Casanova, who spreads the love by only booking
one player (Mr Disney), and is ably assisted by linesman Mr Tuttifrutti - and
no I'm not making this up !!
Nomads start
much the better with Michael Wilde having two goals disallowed - the second a
tight offside call as he beats the flapping Sandhu to head home. Sandhu is
subsequently substituted due to a suspected broken thumb; his replacement,
Mande Sayouba from Cote d'Ivoire, inspires little more confidence.
Callum
Morris goes close and Stabaek, with 73% possession, pass, pass and pass with no
end product. Their first effort is a 41st minute shot well over from Ghana international
Kamal Issah, whilst number 99, Ohikhuaeme Omoijuanfo, provides a rather flaky
performance....
The second
half is that bad that it isn't even within hailing distance of awful - like
watching a game of chess ! Rumours that the S4C highlights were cancelled and a
cartoon shown instead prove unfounded, though.....
There is one
chance for the Nomads with Wilde through one on one with Sayouba who makes a
comfortable save. De Blaa also fashion one opportunity with Jeppe Arctander
Moe's cushioned cross tucked away by Albanian forward Agen Mehmeti - but the
former is offside. Two wild shots close proceedings on a damp squib of a match.
Next week's
return visit to see the Lakesiders of Bala Town play Swedish club AIK Solna has
to be better.....
