RUTHIN TOWN’S joint-manager Phil Hudson had to miss his side’s first friendly on Saturday due to lockdown rules in England - but he was still able to watch the game via a ‘fantastic’ live stream.

With Chris Hardy stepping down from the role of first team manager in July, the Cymru North side appointed the former Brymbo duo of Hudson and Tommy Holmes to the lead the team, with Ste Connor and Jacques Start also joining as coaches.

But, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the team are yet to take charge of the club and even had to miss out on their first game back on Saturday, which resulted in a 3-1 friendly win over Rhyl 1879.

Due to them all living in England, they are currently on lockdown until December 2, and so goalkeeper coach Jamie Hulse and physio Lindsay Morris were in charge during the victory.

Hudson said the management team were still able to watch their side win via a live stream.

He said: “We began our long-awaited pre season programme away to Rhyl and even though I wasn’t able to attend the game due to lockdown rules - along with other members of the management team - we still had Jamie and Lindsay there to take over affairs.

“It was fantastic that the game was streamed live on Rhyls Facebook page which gave us the chance to see the match and be in constant dialogue with the people on the touch line too.

“The players had waited months to get to this stage of playing a proper game against another opponent rather than in house club games and we did ok considering the circumstances and there were some promising performances.

“There is also a lot to work on but all in all we are happy with the 90 minutes and finally getting back to football and it’s always a plus for the players to get a win, results don’t count for anything in pre season but for players it breeds confidence so it was a good Saturday afternoon for all involved.

“We look forward to this Saturday at home to St Asaph now and if we’re still not able to attend, we will be streaming it live for the management team to keep tabs on things.”

Ruthin returned to action in style but there was a special milestone to be celebrated by Rhyl 1879 too.

Denbighshire Free Press:

PIC: CPD Y Rhyl 1879.

Hayden Hughes (above) scored the NWCFA Tier 4 (East) Premier club's first ever goal, some months after it formed following the demise for Rhyl Football Club.

Gareth Thomas' side showed a lot of heart and put in a decent performance but ultimately suffered a second straight defeat at Belle Vue, following on from a narrow 1-0 loss to St Asaph City at home last Saturday.

A strong start saw Rhyl take the lead on 13 minutes thanks to a moment of magic from Hughes, who produced a sensational chip from 30 yards out.

Home keeper Jordan Manley conjured up a sensational save to keep his side ahead on 20 minutes, with James Jones going close at the other end soon after.

Ruthin managed to get level just before the break when Tom Dyer hit the target and they were ahead for the first time after the break when Tom Mann’s shot deflected past Manley just after the hour mark.

A fine counter-attack with around 15 minutes to go saw Josh Jones double the away side’s advantage and complete the scoreline.

Speaking after the match, CPD Y Rhyl 1879 manager Gareth Thomas, remained positive saying: “It was another good workout against a side from Tier 2.

“I thought we were better than last week in terms of keeping the ball and passing but conceded three poor goals.

“There are still plenty of positives and we're looking forward to the game against Airbus UK Broughton on Tuesday night.

“The lads are still learning each other’s game and with a host of players to come after next week it’s looking good.”