RUTHIN LADIES 3

BANGOR CITY 1

A SECOND half fightback did the trick to make it a victorious weekend for Ruthin Ladies.

It was definitely a game of two halves as Division Two basement side Bangor held a 1-0 lead at half-time, only for Ruthin to respond with three goals after the interval.

High-flying Ruthin started strongly with a period of sustained pressure on the Bangor goal, culminating in several scoring opportunities.

However, Bangor counter-attacked and they scored a controversial goal with their first circle entry of the game.

There was some question whether the ball crossed the goal line and this unsettled Ruthin, resulting in some scruffy play that allowed Bangor to gain a foothold in the match.

Several more scoring opportunities were dealt with by Ruthin's defence.

Half-time allowed the Ruthin players time to settle and refocus, resulting in a dominant display when the game resumed.

Ruthin's press was much tighter in the second half and players were quicker into position, with interceptions putting the hosts on to the attack.

Young forwards Megan Hughes, Heledd Beech and Leah Jones displayed some great creative play in final quarter-of-an-hour to test the visitors' keeper and defence.

Erin Wykes started many attacking moves down the left, feeding the ball into the D for the forwards.

As usual, Eleri Jones fed the forward players, with fantastic linking up between Llinos Jones and Claerwen Render.

Sallyanne Hall was cool in defence, reading the game well and timing her tackles, while Gwyneth Day reacted quickly to close down the Bangor attackers and ensure they had no time to get shots away.

There was some excellent play by the whole team, with dedication and determination by all to get themselves back in the game in the second half.

Ruthin are now third in Division Two.

They travel to leaders Penllyn on Saturday and a win could see the Vale of Clwyd team climb back into Division One.

Ruthin would like to thank Richard Hackett for his continued support and coaching, while thanks also go to the umpires and to the Feathers for home teas.