Ruthin Town beat Penrhyndeudraeth 2:0 in the Welsh Championship North section on Friday evening. The result lifted the hosts off the foot of the table and left their visitors still searching for a first win of the campaign. By then both sides had played eight games and neither was particularly happy with where they stood.
The opening chance came from Ruthin, though it did not fall to them. D. Forbes stepped up for a penalty in the thirty-second minute and missed, which changed the mood of the game. To be fair, Penrhyndeudraeth did not panic, and the visitors kept their shape. The visitors often looked more organised than their record suggested.
The breakthrough arrived six minutes later. T. Mann found the net in the thirty-eighth minute, and here's the thing — it was not a spectacular finish, but it was efficient. The hosts had not dominated possession, but they took their moment. Penrhyndeudraeth had nothing to do all evening after that, and the weight of expectation began to tell.
The second goal came in the seventy-first minute. E. Davies finished the job, and by then the visitors were running out of ideas. Ruthin had not camped in the final third for long spells, but when they did, they looked dangerous. The away side had lost seven of eight and this result extended their winless run to ten games.
Both teams arrived in this fixture with poor recent form. Ruthin had drawn with Gilsfild in their previous home game before losing four on the bounce. Penrhyndeudraeth's only point of the season had come against Denbi Town in a 2:2 draw. The result leaves Ruthin on four points and Penrhyndeudraeth on one, both well adrift of the top half.
The gap between the two sides remains clear. Ruthin are still in the bottom half but have shown they can take points from the teams around them. Penrhyndeudraeth must find a way to stop losing games they do not need to lose. The table does not lie, and for now the hosts have moved one place clear of their visitors.