By James Dow
Ahead of tomorrow’s encounter at LHP Stadium, we’ve taken a closer look at Connah’s Quay Nomads with Meet the Opposition!
The history
Connah’s Quay Nomads were founded in 1946 as Connah’s Quay Juniors, with the Nomads name coming five years later in 1951. The Juniors started in the Flintshire League, reaching the final of the Welsh Amateur Cup. The Nomads then moved into the National league North prior to the 1952-53 season and, although they were unable to achieve league success in their first season, they did once again reach the Amateur Cup and this time won silverware after beating Caersws Amateurs. The Nomads were able to win the Amateur Cup three times in the 1950s, however they did switch back into local football for seven years prior to rejoining the Welsh League in 1966, finishing twice as runners-up in the 1970s.
Connah’s Quay were one of the founding members of the Cymru Alliance in 1990 and the League of Wales two seasons later. Having been relegated from the top-flight in the 2007-08 season, the Nomads were promoted back to the then-Welsh Premier League for the 2012-13 season. Connah’s Quay had their first experience of European football in 2016-17, securing a Europa League qualifying spot after defeating Airbus UK Broughton 1-0 through a late Wes Baynes strike. The Nomads picked up a historic first round win in the competition, defeating Norwegian side Stabæk 1-0 over two legs. They were eventually knocked out in the next round by Serbian side FK Vojvodina, but were able to qualify for Europe once again the following season through finishing second in the league, securing a Europa League qualifying spot and a chance to play in the Scottish Challenge Cup for the 2017-18 season.
The Nomads have also tasted league title success in recent years, winning the Cymru Premier title back-to-back during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 season. Connah’s Quay finished second in the league last term, while also beating champions The New Saints to win the JD Welsh Cup for the second time in their history.
The form
The Nomads have made an inconsistent start to the Cymru Premier season this time around, winning three of their 11 league games so far and currently finding themselves in ninth place. They did pick up a victory in their last match, however, as they recorded a 3-0 win at home to Aberystwyth Town. This will be the second time the Nomads and Bluebirds have met this season, with County coming out on top 1-0 in the reverse fixture on matchday one, courtesy of a Ben Ahmun penalty.
The manager
Billy Paynter was appointed as the club’s new manager in August 2024, after they parted ways with Neil Gibson. Paynter had a long playing career, making over 500 senior appearances with the majority coming in the English Football League, having spells at the likes of Swindon Town, Southend United, Leeds United, Bradford City, Brighton and Hove Albion, Sheffield United and Doncaster Rovers, with whom he would gain promotion to the Championship. Paynter has only had one senior head coach role in his managerial career before joining the Nomads, spending one season at Northern Premier League Division One West side Runcorn Linnets, where he guided the team to second place before stepping down in May this year.
The captain
John Disney was named captain of the Nomads in 2023 following the departure of George Horan. The Irishman joined the club in January 2016 from Conference North side Hednesford Town, having had previous spells at Chester, AFC Telford United, Northwich Victoria and Stockport County. Disney was part of the Nomads’ first ever European campaign, but was sent off in the second leg while not on the pitch against Stabæk for not warming down. He then left the Nomads to move to Altrincham Town in 2017, before returning to Wales a year later, signing for Bala Town in January 2018. Disney then rejoined the Nomads six months later, and has since gone on to make over 270 appearances over his two spells, and led the club to a second place finish and a JD Welsh Cup triumph last season.
Key player
Winger Lifumpa Mwandwe has enjoyed a positive start to his Nomads career, scoring three goals and registering one assist so far this season. Mwandwe started his career at Shrewsbury Town, but only made one appearance for the League One side. The Englishman then moved to the Cymru Premier, joining Newtown in the 2019-20 season where he made over 90 appearances for the Robins, scoring 20 goals. Mwandwe also had a spell in North America, where he played for Canadian Premier League side HFX Wanderers, making 19 appearances before returning to Newtown during Phase Two of the 2023-24 season, before joining the Nomads for the start of this campaign. The 23-year-old also trained with the Zambia under-20s team in 2018, and was named in the African under-20 Cup of Nations qualification matches against Rwanda under-20s.
They wore both shirts
Jordan Davies enjoyed a successful period at the Bluebirds, scoring 21 goals in 50 appearances, while also finishing as the top goalscorer in the 2022-23 season, when he netted 15 times. Davies began his career with Brickfield Rangers before joining Prestatyn Town, where he made over 50 appearances in all competitions and scored 24 goals. The forward enjoyed a good 2019-20 season in the Cymru North, scoring 14 league goals in 19 league appearances, and these performances earnt him a move to the National League North where he joined AFC Telford United. Davies made 16 appearances during the first half of the season for the Bucks, before joining King’s Lynn in the March of that season, where he made three appearances.
The forward moved back to Wales in the summer of 2021, making 16 appearances in all competitions and scoring three goals before securing a loan move to Pembrokeshire in January 2022. Davies hit the ground running for the Bluebirds, scoring six goals in 13 appearances for County before signing permanently for the club the following summer. After spending one-and-a-half seasons at the club, Davies returned to north Wales and re-signed for the Nomads, where he scored 26 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions before moving to Scotland this summer to join Championship side Greenock Morton. Davies has also played football for his country, making one appearance for Cymru C in a 1-0 victory over England in March this year. The striker has also played futsal on the national stage, having played in both FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and UEFA Futsal Euro Qualifiers for Cymru.
