Penrhyncoch gave themselves a glimmer of hope in their battle for survival in the Huws Gray Cymru Alliance after pulling off a stunning 3-1 win over Gresford Athletic at Cae Baker.

Solid defending and incisive forward play laid the foundations for a welcome win after a run of results that saw the Roosters dragged deep into relegation danger.

Jonathan Evans gave the hosts an interval lead from the penalty spot, and Tom Evans and Josh Shaw increased the margin after the break, before Jack Chaloner headed a reply for the Latics.

With three of the bottom four teams losing, victory now sees Penrhyn just four points adrift of safety, with four games left, the first of which is away at Buckley Town on Saturday (2.30pm).

Manager Gari Lewis reflected on a stirring display, despite having been hindered by selection issues on the morning of the game, with Carl Lamb and Luke Sherbon forced to pull out, while captain Sion James arrived only 40 minutes before the game.

Already missing were Nashawn Blake and Jon Foligno, but Owain James impressed for Penrhyn after his switch to the heart of the defence.

“Every one of the boys were wonderful,” said Lewis. “I felt that we deserved to win, and their manager Steve Halliwell also said the same.

“I’m chuffed for the boys, and would like to think we have repaid a bit of the tremendous support we’ve had from everyone at the club.

“It’s looking better after that win, but I’m not going over the top as we still have a mountain to climb, although at least it is achievable.”

Lewis added: “We’ve now got a massive task at Buckley.

“Their manager Dan Moore has done a fantastic job there to galvanise the club. It’s another huge game, but we will go there and give it a good go, like we do in every game.

“We’ve got a few players back, but it’s going to be difficult changing the team.”

The Roosters started brightly with a couple of early forays, before Josh Shaw was denied by the legs of keeper Ben Jones after Stef Davies had pulled the ball back.

They were ahead on 17 minutes when Jonathan Evans dispatched a penalty after Davies, who was a handful throughout, was brought down by keeper Jones.

The hosts continued to pose a danger going forward, but Gresford also sounded a warning as Jordan Maccarter dragged wide from Sam Pilkington’s through ball.

Penrhyn needed to be alert to repel a couple more raids, with keeper Leigh Jenkins making a smart stop to keep out Chaloner when through.

At the other end, Jonathan Evans failed to find the target with a header from a Tom Evans cross close to half time.

The Roosters doubled their lead nine minutes into the second period with a superb effort from Tom Evans, who shrugged off a couple of challenges inside the box before firing past goalkeeper Jones.

It got even better just past the hour as they made it 3-0 in superb fashion as Jonathan Evans chipped a ball over the top and Shaw ran on and smahed a volley into the net.

The Latics, however, were back in the game with 20 minutes left as skipper Chaloner headed home Simon Smith’s free kick at the far post.

Spurred by the goal, the visitors stepped up the pressure, but the Roosters weathered the late storm to record an excellent win to rekindle hopes of escaping the drop.

PENRHYNCOCH (v Gresford Athletic): L Jenkins, J Rimmer, S James (capt), O James, T Evans, J Shaw, L Lewis, A Corbisiero, C Davies (M Mousley 65), J Evans, S Davies (L Doherty 75).