A DRAMATIC penalty save from Colwyn Bay goalkeeper Andy Coughlin enabled them to secure a hard-fought 1-0 win at Ruthin Town.

The Seagulls’ came away from a tricky JD Cymru North trip with three points in a game they missed a large number of chances in, and manager Craig Hogg stated it is “another small step” for his adjusting squad ahead of their next outing at home to Llanfair United on Saturday.

He said: “I’m proud of how the lads went and got the result they did. We’ve won ugly in the end and we had to because in the closing stages they’ve thrown everything at us.

“The frustrating thing again for us is we should have really wrapped the game up straight after half time with the four chances we had in the opening ten minutes of the second period.

“But the other qualities the lads showed when under pressure were probably worth a heck of a lot more to us as a group and I’ve certainly learnt more about many of the lads this afternoon.

“Yes, we can thank Andy Coughlin for saving their penalty at the death and I think that shows the type of man we have back there.

“He’s had nothing to do all game and when called upon he’s ensured that we’ve come away with the points.

“Take nothing away from Ruthin at all, they were fearless and played with so much energy.

“It’s a great result for us and hopefully it’s something we can now look to build on.”

The two telling moments both arrived in stoppage time at the end of each half, with the away side going in front when Mitch Bryant diverted a Sion Edwards free-kick into the net to give them an advantage after the break.

Both sides missed good opportunities to add to the score-line after the break, but Town’s top scorer Llyr Morris fluffed his chance from the spot thanks to a fine save from Coughlin late on.