PENRHYNCOCH 0

RUTHIN TOWN 1

A SOLITARY second half goal did the trick to send Ruthin Town into the top-six in the Huws Gray Alliance.

Ask anyone in the league and they will tell you that Penrhyncoch is a tough place to go.

They have a good set up, a good pitch, a good manager and a good team that is very hard to break down.

Ruthin were expecting a tough game and they got one.

The away side enjoyed much of the possession and they played some good football.

They tried, and often succeeded, to play to feet and move the ball.

Town may have been guilty of trying to get the ball forward too early once or twice, but in general the level of football was high, with some good first touches giving time to pass to a team mate.

However, when half-time came, there had been no shots on target by either side and only one shot off target apiece. Penrhyncoch's effort went just wide of the post and Gwydion Ifan sent his strike over the bar.

This was not a reflection of the general play, but on how good both defences coped.

Ruthin centre back Kev Evans looked the best player on the field during the first half, while Gwion Owen also caught the eye.

The second half was played in much the same manner, with Ruthin continuing to probe and pass.

To be fair, a breakthrough for either side looked unlikely until Kevin Evans fired in a tremendous shot.

This came from a corner which had created a melee where one shot was saved by the keeper and another hit a defender, before Evans volleyed home on 65 minutes.

This led to a change of tactics by Penrhyncoch, who now pushed men forward.

This posed different challenges to the Ruthin defence, but they were able to cope.

Keeper Ryan Goldston started to have crosses to deal with, which he did admirably.

Ruthin now had chances to break and suddenly opportunities started to open up at the other end.

As expected, Penrhyncoch threw caution to the wind in the last few minutes, but the Ruthin centre backs once again did well to hold firm.