CONNAH’S QUAY NOMADS’ Mello Corbellini scored a hat trick to help his side ease to a 5-0 win over Cefn Druids on Tuesday (Mar 15).
The Nomads come into this game after a 2-0 victory over Barry Town last time out, in a game which witnessed spectacular goals from Kris Owens and Byron Harrison to give Nomads all three points.
Tuesday’s fixture saw one change for Nomads as Aeron Edwards returned to the starting line up after missing the win over Barry due to a minor hamstring problem. The only absentee for Nomads this evening was captain George Horan and so Callum Morris took up captaincy duties.
As for Druids, they came into this game without a win all season and face a hard task ahead of them for the remainder of the season. Druids’ lineup for tonight saw them unchanged from their 6-1 loss against Haverfordwest last Saturday.
Nomads started the game off well as Kris Owens found a lot of space down the left hand side but Druids were able to clear a series of crosses aimed at Byron Harrison.
Nomads continued to apply pressure as a long ball was spilled by Druids ‘keeper Micheal Jones which eventually fell kindly to Declan Poole but referee Cheryl Foster had spotted a foul just before Poole was going to shoot.
Druids had their first effort of the evening in the 14th minute as a long ball fell to Niall Flint who eventually let fly from 20 yards out but his volley was way wide of the target.
Byron Harrison’s impact on the game was increasing as he delightfully brought down the ball from Jamie Mullan’s cross. His touch fell to Craig Curran who went for the bottom corner and amid shouts from Nomads players, the officials claim the ball did not cross the line.
Nomads’ first goal of the night came from Byron Harrison who made it two goals in two games as he controlled Danny Holmes’ long ball before firing in a half volley into the top corner to give Nomads the lead.
The Nomads were forced into a first half substitution as Jamie Mullan was unable to continue after picking up a knock and so on came Mello Corbellini.
Mello’s first action almost saw himself bag an assist as he crossed in towards Declan Poole who’s header was slightly wide of the bottom right hand corner.
Just before half time, Mello Corbellini grabbed his first Nomads goal as Declan Poole’s corner fell out to Mello who rifled in a thunderous half volley into the top corner leaving Micheal Jones no chance.
The Nomads increased their lead further at the start of the second half as Declan Poole was on point to latch onto a high ball which saw Poole’s low effort trickle into the bottom corner to make it 3-0.
Nomads took little time to make it 4-0 as Mello Corbellini got his second of the night after seeing a pocket of space in which he dribbled into before releasing an unstoppable shot which flew beyond Micheal Jones and into the back of the net.
The game settled for the next ten minutes as Nomads dominated the majority of possession although Druids did have some free kicks into the box cleared by Nomads. Druids defender Phil Mooney picked up a yellow card after bringing down Aeron Edwards near the halfway line.
With just 20 minutes to go, we saw the introduction of our U19 star Josh Williams for his first team League debut as he came onto the field in place of Callum Morris. Druids made their first change as Jelson Antonio came off for Taylor Thain.
Five minutes later, The Nomads were awarded a penalty by Cheryl Foster after Mello was fouled inside the area. Mello stepped up and calmly converted his penalty, sending the ‘keeper the wrong way to complete his hat-trick.
As we got closer to full time, Declan Poole almost doubled his tally for the night as he met a cross from the right by skillfully flicking towards goal but Druids survived as they were able to clear.
The Nomads then brought on another U19 player as Iwan Roberts came on for the final few moments and off came Aeron Edwards for his Cymru Premier debut.
The last few minutes saw little action and so the full time whistle was blown and The Nomads now remain unbeaten in phase two after defeating Cefn Druids thanks to goals from Byron Harrison, Declan Poole and an outstanding hat-trick from the man of the match, Mello Corbellini.
The Nomads now have to wait eleven days for their next fixture as they will travel to Bridge Meadow to take on Haverfordwest who have recently found good form so this will surely be a tough contest for Nomads. This match takes place on 26th March with a 2:30pm kick off to be scheduled.
Match report by Adam Angerer
