A YOUTHFUL Rhyl FC side picked up a point on their travels with a 0-0 draw at Llangefni Town.

The Lilywhites’ were forced to field a number of U19 players due to injury, suspension and work commitments for the long Friday night trip, with Ben Lockley and Callum Roberts starting the duo of Sion Williams and Mason Blackwell-Jones making their debuts off the bench.

Eddie Maurice-Jones’ men kick-off a busy series of fixtures over the Christmas period with a home encounter against Llandudno and former boss Matthew Jones on Saturday, before travelling to league-leading Prestatyn Town on December 28 and hosting Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant on New Year’s Day.

A cagey start from both sides brought little in the way of goalmouth activity during the opening quarter hour, with James Murphy forcing Cefni stopper Tyler French into a smart stop to keep the scores level with 16 on the clock.

Callum Roberts’ cross almost flew straight into the home side’s net a minute later until the danger was finally averted, but Town were looking lively at the other end and Cai Powell Roberts latched onto a Steffan Jones delivery before seeing his shot superbly tipped away by Rory Crowther.

The visitors ended the first period on the front foot but were unable to convert any of the numerous chances that came their way, with Murphy, Roberts, Aaron Hassall and Arek Piskorski all spurning good opportunities to give the Lilies’ the advantage at the interval.

After the break saw Piskorski go close yet again for the away side on 50 minutes when his powerful drive was saved in fine style by French, but they were dealt a blow midway through the half when the Polish native and Murphy were both forced off through injury.

The tempo noticeably slowed following the changes, with neither side creating another chance of note to ensure they both had something to show for their efforts on a cold Friday evening of action.