LLANDUDNO Athletic suffered their first defeat of the Vale of Clwyd and Conwy Division One season after a 4-0 home loss to Rhuddlan Town.

The away side moved up to third spot after a shock triumph against the current pacesetters, and the gap is now just six points between the promotion rivals.

It did not take the visitors long to make an impact on proceedings, and they opened the scoring on 14 minutes when Cory Taylor finished well following a period of sustained pressure.

Both sides missed a number of good opportunities throughout the remainder of the first period with conditions worsening, but it was the away side who doubled their advantage after the break on 47 minutes courtesy of a fine effort from Jay Whitehouse.

This was swiftly followed by a third on 58 minutes when Whitehouse fired home his second of the afternoon after another decisive attacking move, and the forward rounded off a sensational day at the office with his hat-trick on 72 to complete the rout and inflict a first reverse of the campaign for Athletic, who had won 11 of their previous 13 contests.

Kinmel Bay extended their Premier Division lead to seven points after a thumping 9-2 win at Rhyl Rovers.

The visitors came out with an impressive sense of purpose and they went ahead after just two minutes when Ben Cawley found the net, and the same player was on hand to double their tally on 13.

This provoked a strong response from the home side, who got back into the contest on 25 minutes through a Barry Roache penalty, and Rovers managed to get back on level terms on the half-hour mark when Matty Reece finished well.

Their joy proved to be short-lived as Bay restored their advantage on 35 minutes when Anthony Jones found the corner, and after the break saw the away side pull further clean on 50 thanks to a strong effort from Kieran Ellis.

Leon Field’s side were rampant throughout the second period which brought a flurry of goals, and Cawley rounded off another outstanding individual display with a further two efforts to take his total to four for the afternoon.

Ellis was also in ruthless form and ended up with a hat-trick after a pair of excellent finishes, while Danny Campbell also hit the target to complete the rout, meaning the promotion candidates have now scored 60 goals in just 14 league games this term.