LLANIDLOES Town had to settle for a fifth place finish in the Spar Mid Wales League division one after suffering a last day 2-1 defeat at Llanrhaeadr.

Victory would have seen the Daffs complete a creditable campaign by finishing in fourth spot, but they were downed by headed goals in each half from Wayne Austin and Ben White.

Gareth Owen headed one back before both sides finished with 10 men, with Dale Evans sent off for the home side and George Clarke for the Daffs.

It was a disappointing end to the season after such a good run of results, with defeat seeing the Daffs finish a place below their hosts in fifth.

But Daffs boss Hugh Clarke looked at the bigger picture, and praised his charges for their efforts during the campaign.

"It was not the finish we wanted," he said. "We created enough chances to have scored half a dozen in the first half, but it was not to be our day, and we gave away a poor second goal with bad marking from a corner.

"But overall it has been a good season, finishing fifth in the league and reaching a cup final. They are a fantastic bunch of players to work with, and there is a great team spirit.

"The young players are maturing and we now need to push on next season, try to finish higher in the league and look to win some cups."

Llanidloes made the running for much of the encounter, but were caught on the counter attack as Austin headed in after excellent work on the flank from Iwan Matthews.

Josh Matthews had chances for the hosts before the break, but it was Llanrhaeadr who doubled the lead when Matthews provided the assist from a corner for the unmarked White to head home 10 minutes into the second half.

Llani kept pushing, and had their chances before reviving their hopes when Owen nodded in a right wing cross.

Both sides finished with 10 men in the closing stages with George Clarke red-carded for retaliation after being caught by a bad tackle, while Dale Evans was sent off for the home side after getting involved in the resulting skirmish.

To lose Clarke was frustrating after he had been the victim of several poor challenges during the game that went unpunished.