A ROUSING second half display was not enough to prevent Prestatyn Town from suffering a 2-1 reverse at Gresford Athletic.

Neil Gibson’s side were left rueing a poor start that they failed to overcome despite a much-improved display in the second period, and the Huws Gray Alliance basement dwellers will now look to progress to the JD Welsh Cup second round when they entertain New Brighton Villa on Saturday (2.30pm).

Things did not begin well for the visitors and they fell behind after just five minutes when Steve Smith took advantage of some hesitant defending to rifle into the net.

This provoked a strong response from Town, with Oli Buckley and Jack Hoult both spurning opportunities to get them back on level terms soon after, and Steve Halliwell’s side made them pay for their lack of conviction in front of goal on 37 minutes when an intricate passing move presented a chance to Sam Molyneux, who made no mistake with the finish from close range.

After the break saw the away side come out with a renewed sense of purpose with Buckley and Hoult both going close in the opening exchanges, with Ben Burrows flashing a header over at the other end.

Aaron White and recent re-signing Alec Williams forced Ben Jones into a pair of smart stops, and the talented goalkeeper had to be at his best to deny Macauley Taylor as the Seasiders’ laid siege to the home goal throughout the second half.

Their pressure finally told on 70 minutes when Buckley was finally rewarded for his constant persistence with a curling effort into the corner, and the same player looked to have levelled proceedings after 80 but his header from a Williams delivery rattled the post with Jones beaten.

This proved to be telling for the visitors’ overall fortunes, and despite a constant barrage of pressure in the closing stages it was not enough to see them emerge from the game with a point.