10 man Saints snatch a dramatic point on Deeside

Match Report

Yellow cards: Pask (25), Brobbel (32)
Red cards: Redmond (38), Craig Harrison (during half-time)
Substitutions: Wilson for Pask (38), Hudson for Cieslewicz (46), Smith for Marriott (55), Dafydd for Astles (90+4)

Match report by Sam Wood
Lead image: Brian Jones

The New Saints left it late to snatch a point against Connah’s Quay Nomads at the Deeside Stadium.

Having played the majority of the match with 10 men, due to a controversial Danny Redmond red card, it was substitute, Gwion Dafydd, who rescued his side with a last-gasp equaliser.

The result maintains The New Saints’ four-point lead at the top of the JD Cymru Premier, with Craig Harrison’s side also having a game in hand over the second-placed Nomads.

The first real chance of the match went the way of the visitors with 10 minutes on the clock.

It was a great cross from Danny Davies, who picked out Ben Clark from the righthand side, but the midfielder was unable to keep his effort on target from inside the box.

Down the other end, Aron Williams sent an effort over the top of Connor Roberts’ goal five minutes later.

There were two subsequent TNS chances to come in the minutes that followed, first from Ryan Brobbel, and then from Danny Davies, but neither man managed to find the target from the edge of the Nomads’ box.

In the 34th minute, the home side thought they’d broken the deadlock, as Paulo Mendes took a stab at the ball from inside the crowded penalty area. Much to the relief of the TNS defence though, it rolled wide of Roberts’ far post.

Just four minutes later, things took a dramatic turn for Craig Harrison’s men, as Danny Redmond was shown a controversial red card for a challenge on Ryan Harrington.

With two minutes to go before the break, substitute, Adam Wilson, called Andy Firth into action for the first time, but the Nomads’ ‘keeper denied the number 23.

Five minutes after the restart, things went from bad to worse for the league leaders, as George Horan opened the scoring for the Nomads after connecting with a free-kick from the right.

With 25 minutes to go, Brobbel almost dragged his side level after some great footwork on the edge of the box, but Andy Firth pulled off a great save to deny the Northern Ireland under-21 international.

Four minutes on, there was another chance for TNS to pull level, but Clark’s header from inside the box was straight into the arms of the goalkeeper.

Again The Saints continued to press for the equaliser, and with 71 minutes played, Wilson curled an effort wide of the far post after cutting inside from the right.

As the minutes continued to tick down, it looked like The Saints were set to suffer a first defeat of the season, but they were given a lifeline with the addition of six extra minutes.

In the first of those additional minutes, the game took yet another dramatic turn, as the Nomads’ talisman, Mike Wilde, was shown a straight red card for what was believed to be an elbow on Ryan Astles.

The Saints’ number five was unable to continue, so Gwion Dafydd was introduced to add extra firepower in the closing stages.

And it proved to be a masterstroke from the TNS coaching staff, as, in the fifth minute of stoppage time, the Welsh youngster connected with a Danny Davies cross to haul his side level with his first touch of the game.

That was the final twist in an exciting encounter, and as a result, The New Saints maintained their four-point lead at the top of the JD Cymru Premier table.

Harrison’s side are back in action on Boxing Day, welcoming Airbus UK Broughton to Park Hall.