TWO goals by former Porthmadog favourite Josh Davies contributed largely towards his old club’s latest upset at the Traeth, where just one win has been gained in five outings.

In a second versus ninth-placed encounter, unsung Denbigh acquired the habit of snatching timely reply goals to demolish the hosts’ new-found hopes in the Cymru Alliance with a 4-3 away win.

Immediately after Porthmadog had produced the equaliser at 1-1, Denbigh snapped up their second goal and later, when the hosts trimmed the deficit to 2-3, that was followed quickly by the opponents’ fourth.

Craig Papirnyk’s team, boosted by their 5-2 romp at Caersws last time out, had taken the early initiative on home turf, and Cai Jones was prominent twice in the opening stages.

Jones even found the Denbigh net, past visiting keeper Jon Hill-Dunt, on 15 minutes only to see the offside flag raised, and a follow-up shot by the same player soon after, from Josh Banks’s left-wing cross, was blocked by a defender near the goal line.

It came as a body blow on 36 minutes, when Denbigh forged ahead, Porthmadog old boy Davies pouncing close in to net a parry by home keeper Richard Harvey, after Warren Duckett had headed goalwards from Craig Pritchard’s right wing cross.

The home team’s prospects rose momentarily on 44 minutes, with Julian Williams finding the target from 15 yards out, after meeting Sion Bradley’s ball from the left, but parity at 1-1 lasted hardly any time at all.

Straight from the re-start, Denbigh swept upfield and the attack down the right wing culminated with Pritchard sweeping over a centre to Duckett, who finished off at close range, making the scoreline 2-1 at the break.

Davies punished Porthmadog again on 54 minutes, when poaching from a few yards, to follow up after Pritchard’s shot had been blocked by Harvey in the breakaway that was prompted by a stray midfield pass.

Porthmadog reckoned, albeit briefly, they were back in business again on 56 minutes, thanks to Bradley trimming the leeway to 2-3, finding the net from an angled 18 yards, after slick build-up play by Cai Jones.

That euphoria was also short-lived, because within 60 seconds Denbigh reasserted their authority with goal number four, from Danny Sullivan, whose glorious free-kick on the edge of the box had Harvey well beaten.

Just three minutes remained, when Banks scored the hosts’ third goal, heading beyond Hill-Dunt from eight yards, after Julian Williams’s right cross, but there was little time for Porthmadog to salvage anything else.

PORTH: R Harvey, R Evans, L Doran, I Price, J Banks, C James (S Bratt 75), G Jones Evans (I Emlyn 56’), J Williams, C Jones (M Williams 71), J Chaplin, S Bradley. Subs: T French (gk), J Jones.

DENBIGH: J Hill-Dunt, R Newton, N Williams, D Sullivan, B Nash, M Cook, K Pierce (J Eyre 67’), S Cunningham, W Duckett (L Turner 81’), J Davies, C Pritchard. Sub: L Smith. Attendace: 232.