In a dismal Euro week for the Cymru Premier, let’s applaud Connah’s Quay Nomads for giving us some cause for optimism

After this week’s elimination whitewash in Europe for Cymru Premier clubs, it is hard to come up with a positive comment.

But three words offered some cause for comfort – Connah’s Quay Nomads.

Having drawn the home leg 0-0, things looked grim for John Disney’s side when they went 3-0 down before the hour in the return clash with Ballkani in Kosovo.

With the Deesiders’ tie set to finish later than the other UEFA Conference League games involving Caernarfon Town and Penybont, who had lost heavily in Estonia and Andorra, it seemed inevitable that Nomads would end up on the wrong end of a thrashing too.

However, there was a glimmer of light in the darkness.

A Max Woodcock penalty and Hussein Mehasseb fine finish reduced the arrears with more than a quarter of an hour left.

Could a famous fightback save Wales’ miserable week, already carrying added gloom after The New Saints’ latest Champions League failure against Sabah of Azerbaijan on Tuesday?

Sadly not, Nomads lost 3-2 on the night and by the same score on aggregate, but Disney’s men had certainly restored some pride on an otherwise woeful Cymru Premier campaign in Europe.

Not that this is new territory for the Nomads.

Like Bala Town and Airbus UK Broughton, the Quay has never suffered a pasting in Europe.

Yes they have lost more than they have won, but their ties have generally always been close.

Their style of football fares well in Europe, strong and organised defending.

They have played 24 European games and their heaviest losses are a pair of 3-0’s to very strong opposition – HJK Helsinki and Partizan.

Nomads were beaten 4-1 in Prishtina of Kosovo in 2021-22, but had won the first leg 4-2 so were only pipped 6-5 on aggregate.

So, while the comments doing the rounds on social media this week about Wales’ catastrophes have been severe, and in some cases understandably so, we should not forget thn efforts of Nomads, plus Bala and Airbus before them.

No double figure canings, no abject performances – it’s a minor consolation in many ways, but still a consolation.

Going back through the years, all the way back to when it all began in 1993-94, Welsh Premier sides have taken some mighty beatings on the continent.

In more recent seasons we have seen improvements, but the past two campaigns have simply not been good enough and serve as a reminder of how bad things used to be.

This season’s Cymru Premier Euro stats read: Played 8 Won 0 Drawn 1 Lost 7 Goals For 3 Goals Against 21.

Our coefficient is abysmal. That bottom place beckons. One can feel the splinters from San Marino’s wooden spoon.

It remains to be seen how The New Saints perform in their ‘second chance’ in the Conference League, but recent showings don’t inspire confidence.

With the money and resources they have at their disposal, the record 18-time Cymru Premier champions should be doing better, setting an example, inspiring.

With the Welsh national teams not in the best place right now and a new-look Cymru Premier League still to be tested, Welsh football desperately needs a lift.

It has not come through Europe – yet. It is hard to see how things can improve.

Summer football? Would it really make a difference? We are not too far off that right now. Football is a 12-month game now in many ways.

However, in a week where the Welsh football doom-mongers are at their worst, Connah’s Quay Nomads did provide some cause for optimism – and we should applaud that.