By Webmaster/Rheolwr y Wefan
March 23 2003

Graham Evans had the first opportunity, in the second minute of the game, but lobbed the ball over the Nomads bar from the edge of the box. On 14 minutes Connah's Quay's top scorer, Tommy Mutton, made a good run down the left but was denied by an excellent saving tackle from the Caersws defender Andrew Thomas, who was captaining the Bluebirds today. A minute later Graham Evans hooked the ball over the Nomads goal from 12 yards.

After 22 minutes a free kick by the Nomads' Andy Griffiths from 22 yards was pushed over by the home keeper, Andy Mulliner, for a corner. This was followed three minutes later by a Kevin Scott corner on the right for the Bluebirds being pushed over the bar by the Nomads' keeper, David Walsh, and then Walsh pushed an Alan Williams header over following a Sean Jehu corner.

On 36 minutes Caersws midfielder Graham Jones put in a good cross to Kevin Scott, but keeper Walsh smothered Scott's ensuing 10-yard shot. Three minutes before the break Graham Evans latched onto a long through ball from Hugh Clarke, beating the offside trap and then the oncoming keeper on the right, but the Nomads' Craig Hutchinson was able to sweep away the goal bound shot from the line. The Nomads then had an excellent opportunity to open the scoring when home keeper Mulliner, playing against his former Club, deflected Craig Lawton's shot, with home defender Andrew Thomas then clearing the ball off the line.

Caersws opened the scoring two minutes into the second half, when a good run down the right by Graham Jones resulted in him crossing a superb low ball into the path of the League's top scorer, Graham Evans, who scored his 20th league goal of the season when he clinically clipped the ball wide of the stranded keeper from 8 yards.

Three minutes later the ball was once again in the back of the Nomads net, following a good ball into the box by Kevin Scott, but Bluebird defender Hugh Clarke was ruled offside as he headed the ball in.

On 57 minutes Kevin Scott, who was returning from injury, swung a corner in from the left, which was glanced on by Hugh Clarke to Graham Jones. Jones unfortunately then headed the ball narrowly wide of the back post. A minute later the Nomads had a good opportunity to draw level, but home keeper Mulliner held Stuart Rain's shot, after Rain had been set up by Stuart Terry.

Play continued to be principally confined to midfield for much of the time, but Nomads, with one of their best opportunities of the afternoon, were unlucky when substitute Rob Chester powered his header against the cross bar following an Andy Griffiths right wing corner on 70 minutes. Seven minutes later Mulliner held onto Terry's header following a long Nomads throw-in from the right.

Caersws had a great opportunity to increase their lead on 78 minutes, when Alan Williams played a short free kick to Kevin Scott. Scott then beat a defender before powering a low 30-yard drive just wide of the far post with keeper Walsh well beaten.

With the Deesiders beginning to lose their composure somewhat, referee Ray Ellingham had no option but to show a yellow card to Nomads' Andy Griffiths, who fell in the box like a dying swan in search of an undeserved penalty.

With four minutes of the match remaining, Nomads almost scraped a point when Rob Chester sent a 20-yard screamer narrowly wide of the Caersws post. The Bluebirds, however, successfully held out to complete another double, having won 1 - 3 at the Deeside Stadium last November,

Report by John Baker, taken from LOW Topica list