MOCHDRE kept their feint North Wales Cricket League Premier Division title hopes alive for another week with a 44-run win at derby rivals Llandudno.

The newly promoted side got back to winning ways at The Oval in a game that was significantly hampered by adverse weather, leaving the high-fliers 26 points behind league-leading Bangor ahead of their crucial home clash with second-placed Menai Bridge on Saturday.

Despite losing opener Stewart Williams for a duck early on, the visitors managed to post a total of 254-7 from their allotted 50 overs at the crease thanks in no small part to superb knocks from lower order batsmen Sam Davies and Mike Humphreys.

The pair got the away side out of a tricky predicament at a critical stage of the innings, with Davies making 64 and Humphreys firing an unbeaten 51 from 68 deliveries.

Gareth Goodson (24), Gareth Davies (29) and Alex Davies (30) also made valuable contributions, and Lions’ skipper Jack Rimmington was the pick of the home bowling attack on his way to four wickets for the loss of 40 runs from a 12-over spell.

Chasing a revised target of 202 from 36 overs, the hosts looked well on their way to reaching their total early on thanks to a half-century knock of 52 from Sam Rimmington and double-figure scores of 33 and 29 from Jamie Grimshaw and Luke Kenworthy.

This effort was not replicated by the rest of the home batting order, who were decimated thereafter on their way to 158 all out in reply.

All-rounder Goodson led the way for the visitors with three wickets for 31 runs, Williams and Kyle Brown also having a big impact by claiming a pair of victims at the combined expense of 56.