AS far as building team spirit goes, you couldn’t have scripted a better bonding session than Connah’s Quay Nomads’ road trip to Slovenia.
Boss Neil Gibson and captain John Disney both spoke about the club’s togetherness before and after their brilliant 1-0 win in NK Bravo last Thursday in the first leg of the Europa Conference first round qualifier.
Prior to the trip that saw them fly into Zagreb in Croatia before crossing the border into Slovenia, Disney, playing his 18th European tie in Nomads colours, said: “These are the trips that really bring the squad together.
“With new players coming in you want to get them to bond straight away and although you can do that in training and in games, there’s nothing better than a trip like this where the whole camp - players and staff - are together.
“It’s so important to build up the camaraderie in the squad and European trips are perfect for that.
“We knew we were going to have a bus trip into Slovenia and then on the way back we were flying back from Venice.”
And there’d be plenty to talk about on that return journey after Nomads produced one of the best ever results in Europe.
New boy Ben Maher came off the bench to score the only goal of the game seven minutes from time giving Nomads a great chance of making into the second qualifying round when they meet Bravo in Thursday’s return leg at Bangor’s Nantporth Stadium.
“Benji’s only been with us two weeks but to see all the substitutes - some of them new faces and others who may have been expecting to start the game - piling on to celebrate the goal spoke volumes for the team spirit we’ve got here,” said Gibson.
“I’ve said all along that when you sign a player when you’re looking to build a squad, it’s important that they’ve got a good attitude as well as being a good player.
“That’s something we have prided ourselves on in getting good people into the football club.”
Gibson also revealed how much Thursday’s match - played in gruelling 30 degrees heat - affected his players.
“They lost between six to eight pounds in weight and we had to make sure they were properly rehydrated and thankfully we had drinks breaks in the game,” added Gibson.
“I think we didn’t stop sweating from the minute we got there but it just goes to show how fit the lads are.
“We only train twice a week but we matched them and were probably in better condition than them in the last 10 minutes of the game. That is testament to the effort put in my the players and the conditioning staff.
“Now we’ve got to put last week’s result behind us and concentrate on getting through to the second round.
“Being 1-0 up puts a bit more pressure on us and we know that we’ll need another goal in the tie at Bangor because Bravo will come and have a real go.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re ready for them.”
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