Nomads savour the moment after their historic title success

A 6-1 victory at Wollaston Victoria ensured Nomads clinched the Chromasport Northants Combination Premier Division title.

And it was the first-time since the 1996/97 campaign that the club had won the top-flight title in the local league.

Nomads certainly did it the hard way as a backlog of fixtures saw them having to play 10 matches in the last month but they were a model of consistency as they wrapped up the title on the back of a 19-match unbeaten run - 17 of those being victories.

Tuesday’s win moved them five points clear of rivals Blisworth and Nomads will now get their hands on the title trophy when they head to Harpole for the season finale on Saturday.

Jack Wisniewski hit a hat-trick at Wollaston and further goals from Jake Bettles, Liam Wood and Ross Patrick ensured they secured the crown in style.

And when asked what the secret to their success has been, manager Joe Rich said: “Just consistency, I guess. There has been a relentless desire to keep ticking the games off.

“We had such a big backlog of games and at the end of March we were fourth in the league and six points off Blisworth.

“We had a couple of games in hand but we finished with something like nine games in the last three-and-a-half weeks.

“We have got to where we are with a big unbeaten run and having a squad of 20 lads who have genuinely all chipped in has been massive for us.

“We won a couple of games by the odd goal with defenders chipping in with goals so it’s been a complete effort, especially in this spell where we have had so many games in a short space of time.

“Lads at this level are not really used to Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday-Tuesday and to do that for a month with the pressure of knowing that if we lost one game that could be it messed up, is an impressive achievement.

“It’s a tough division. Even on Tuesday, historically, we have not been great against Wollaston. They don’t really like us, there’s a bit of a rivalry but we went there and tore them apart.

“To put in that performance with the pressure of knowing how close you are to the title was very pleasing to say the least.

“I just think our squad is unbelievable to be honest and there are several players who could be playing at a higher level. But they have all stuck together and got it done.”

Rich, meanwhile, believes the top flight of the county league is now bursting with teams and players good enough to play at higher levels.

“Before I joined Nomads, all of my football was at the steps above and the only real difference I see really is the standard of the grounds,” said Rich, who was previously at Wellingborough Town.

“We beat ON Chenecks in the Junior Cup earlier in the season and they went on to finish second in the Spartan League Division One.

“It’s a bit different with it being a one-off game and you would always need that consistency week in, week out but there are some really good teams and players in the league.

“Often, it falls down to player commitment and you don’t have to deal with Tuesday night games in normal circumstances.

“The quality is definitely there but I think it comes down to a lot of lads just wanting to play Saturday to Saturday without having to travel to London or somewhere on a Tuesday night.”