CONWY Borough’s JD Welsh Cup journey ended at the first-round stage with a 2-1 home loss to Ruthin Town.

The Tangerines’ exited the competition at the first hurdle after a rare loss at Y Morfa against Chris Hardy’s side, and they will be hoping for better success during their JD Cymru North trip to Gresford Athletic on Saturday (2.30pm).

A positive start from the home side saw them unable to take any of the chances that came their way, with Corrig McGonigle having an effort ruled on with 20 on the clock.

The prolific forward almost hit the target again on 22 minutes when he dribbled past Town stopper Ryan Goldston, but he was unable to finish from a tight angle and the danger was averted.

They were made to pay for their inefficiency in front of goal on 32 minutes when second tier top scorer Llyr Morris made the most of some space to fire past Ben Heald and break the deadlock.

After the break saw the home side restore parity to the score in sensational fashion on 47 minutes through Craig Whelan, who unleashed a ferocious 25-yard thunderbolt that gave Goldston no chance.

Any hopes Borough had of using this momentum in a positive fashion were dashed shortly following the restart when some hesitant defending presented another chance to Morris, and the deadly marksman demonstrated his trademark composure to steer in his second of the afternoon with 52 gone.

Heald had to be at his best to prevent Town from doubling their advantage midway through the half, and despite controlling the tempo throughout the closing stages it was not enough to get the home side back on level terms and condemned them to defeat.