PORTHMADOG were unable to recover from a second minute opening goal from Rhyl as the visitors held firm for a 1-0 win in the JD Cymru North last weekend.

Almost before the regular home fans in the Main Stand had settled in their seats at the Treaeth, a Sam Molyneux stunner had put the visitors ahead.

He struck with power from all of 35 yards across goal, with the ball striking the far post and rebounding back across a despairing Paul Pritchard into the net.

Despite playing for a further 88 minutes, that proved to be the only goal of the game as Rhyl took all three points.

In an evenly-contested match, with few clear chances, Port will consider themselves unlucky not to take a share of the points. Following that shattering start, Port stuck to their task and pushed forward in search of an equaliser.

With just two more minutes on the clock, they came close when Jay Gibbs found space to meet Rob Evans’ excellent cross, but the header went well wide.

Play then became end to end, with Port having plenty of possession, but the visitors were also a threat, especially from set-pieces. They won a series of threatening James Murphy corners, which Port had to work hard to clear. The dangerous Arek Piskorski also had a shot deflected for a corner.

Midway through the half Port enjoyed a good spell, with Josh Banks overlapping dangerously down the left, and one of these produced a half chance for Jay Gibbs but his near post snapshot went narrowly wide.

Mel McGinness was then brought down on the edge of the box and Rhyl keeper Rory Crowther pulled off a good save to keep out Gibbs’s well struck free kick.

At the other end it took a top class save from Pritchard when Cai Owen met a long cross to the back post.

For Port, Rob Evans had his shot deflected for a corner, but in the main clear chances were thin on the ground and half-time was reached with Rhyl holding on to their slender early lead.

In the early stages of the the second-period, Port again had plenty of possession, and one move where they kept possession for seemingly an age ended with a comfortable Crowther save from Ilan ap Gareth.

But that was a rare piece of action for the Rhyl keeper. Despite having plenty of possession and, with much of the play in the Rhyl half, the hosts failed to create clear opportunities.

A resolute Rhyl defence denied them the space as they battled to get on level terms. Rhyl relied on hitting on the break and from one of these Pritchard pulled off another good save to deny Ben Burrows.

Port, looking to change the game, brought on subs Sion Parry and John Livermore and Sion Parry set up a rare opportunity for Josh Banks, whose powerful shot was deflected over the bar.

In fact, it was Rhyl who had the best opportunity where they could have settled the game, when on 75 minutes Piskorski nipped in to intercept a misplaced pass, but again Pritchard pulled off another good save.

Port’s frustrating afternoon suddenly became a lot worse when Jay Gibbs was shown a straight red card by referee Kevin Parry for a foul on Tom Despite going down to 10-men, Port continued to battle away.

Though it was not possible to fault Port’s ball retention in a close contest, the problem of how to turn possession into chances still eludes them - and it did not help either to be without leading scorer John Owen.

PORTHMADOG: Paul Pritchard, Tomos Emlyn., Ceri James, Iddon Price, Josh Banks, Ifan Emlyn, Iwan Lewis, Jay Gibbs, Rob Evans, (Dan Roberts 83’), Ilan ap Gareth (Sion Parry 69’’), Mel McGinness (John Littlemore 71’). Unused subs:. Rhys Alun, Telor Williams.

RHYL: Rory Crowther, Ben Nash, Cai Owen, Max Peate, Ben Burrows, Tommy Creamer, Gethin Maxwell, Ross Stephens, Sam Molyneux (Aaron Hassall 61’), Arek Piskorski, James Murphy (Ben Lockley 81), Subs:Keighan Jones, Dave McIntyre, Callum Roberts, Attendance: 236.