A WONDER strike from Sam Molyneux gave Rhyl their third win in eight days thanks to a 1-0 success at Porthmadog.

The Lilywhites’ secured their sixth victory in seven outings with a hard-fought victory against their JD Cymru North rivals, leaving them in third position in the standings ahead of their crunch home clash with fierce rivals Bangor City on Saturday (2.30pm).

Manager Eddie Maurice-Jones, said: “It was a great result and performance as not many will come to Porthmadog and win, who are one of the best footballing sides in the league.

“We could have been out of sight early on and I thought we were too much for them. Had we been a bit braver and taken our chances then it could have been a more comfortable score-line.

“Credit to Port for coming back into it and they played some good stuff, but the way we set up I don’t think we looked like getting troubled and Rory (Crowther) didn’t really have a save to make besides the free kick.

“Sam’s goal gave us a platform to express ourselves and it is another clean sheet for us. We were compact in the right areas which wasn’t the case at the start of the season when we were a bit naïve, so once we cut that out, we have goals all over the team and that is really pleasing.”

The Lilies’ got off to the best possible start thanks to a sensational effort from Molyneux, who unleashed a dipping 30-yard attempt that flew past Paul Pritchard and into the top corner after two minutes.

Midfielder Jay Gibbs almost levelled matters soon after when his header flashed wide with five on the clock, with Arek Piskorski and Ben Nash going close at the other end during a strong passage of play from the visitors.

Gibbs tested Crowther with a thumping free-kick midway through the half that was expertly diverted by the stopper, and a strong end to the first period from the away side saw James Murphy and Gethin Maxwell spurn good opportunities.

After the interval saw Murphy, Piskorski, Cai Owen and Aaron Hassall all come closing to extending the Lilies’ tally, and Port’s task become more difficult on 76 minutes when Gibbs was shown a red card for a bad tackle on Tommy Creamer.

This enabled the away side to see out the remainder of the game with minimal fuss to pick up another impressive three points.