Colwyn Bay 0-1 Ruthin Town: Tom is the Mann as Ruthin rumble Seagulls

Ruthin Town maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a well-earned 1-0 victory over Colwyn Bay at the Four Crosses Arena.

Thomas Mann scored the only goal of the game to secure a big three points for the away side against one of the Cymru North’s title favourites.

This result sees Ruthin move up to sixth with five points on the board after three games whereas Colwyn Bay move down to eighth with four points from their first three.

A confident start from Colwyn Bay saw them keep the ball well in the early stages without causing much threat to the Ruthin Defence.

Charlie Williams looked dangerous getting on the ball on numerous occasions causing problems for Colwyn Bay in central areas.

The first scare for either side came as Tom McCready’s long-range effort saw the Ruthin goalkeeper scrambling as the ball narrowly missed the net.

The main dangerman for Colwyn Bay in the first half was Robert Parry who looked dangerous both centrally and out on the left-hand side.

In the second half, Joshua Jones had a glorious chance for Ruthin at the start of the second half, his shot was well saved by Coughlin in the Colwyn Bay net.

The Seagulls were celebrating after McCready’s free-kick was headed home, but the celebrations were short-lived as the linesman flagged for offside.

Sam Jones looked dangerous for Colwyn Bay throughout offering width down the right-hand side, his effort firing into the side netting.

Another bright spark was Charlie Williams who was brought down by Sam Downey on the edge of the Colwyn Bay area, the resulting free-kick just wide.

The flanks played a big part for both sides with many crosses causing problems. Llyr Morris looked especially dangerous fighting to get at the end of every cross.

Ruthin’s game-changing moment came with just over 10 minutes to go as Thomas Mann was found by a corner swung in by substitute Dafydd Evans and slotted the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.

In need of a response to Mann’s opener, Colwyn Bay picked up the tempo to try and find an equaliser. Although they worked the ball well across the pitch, they were unable to find a way past a solid Ruthin side.

Ruthin Town manager Phil Hudson said: “A great shift from the lads today. We were worthy winners.”

Colwyn Bay: Andrew Coughlin, Joseph Williams, Cai Owen, Lewis Sirrell, Sam Downey, Sam Jones, Tom McCready©(I.Hughes, 62), Owain Morris, Robert Parry (D.Edwards, 71), Sion Edwards(J.Higgins, 77), James Ellison.

Yellow Cards: Sam Downey 60, Cai Owen 66′

Unused subs: George Mannion, Morgan Ashworth

Ruthin Town: Ryan Goldsworth, Matthew Evans, Kyle Jones, Izaack Lambert, Vita Mbolokele, Osian Davies (C), Sam Rickett, Daniel Cox, Thomas Mann, Charlie Williams (Bentley, 86), Joshua Jones (D, Evans, 75)

Goal: Thomas Mann’

Yellow Cards: S.Rickett, 68′

Unused subs: Tom.Dyer, Steffan Dolben, Stephen Connor

Attendance – 550