SATURDAY (February 26) saw nearly 400 fans attend Belle Vue as Rhyl thrashed league leaders Prestatyn Sports 4-0, closing the gap at the top of the North Wales Coast FA (NWCFA) League East Premier Division.

The first 20 minutes saw few chances as both teams tried to gain advantage with one notable long-range effort from Carl Lamb who fired just over the bar.

But after 23 minutes, and following a Kieran Ellis long throw, Leon Atkins saw his effort blocked by the Sports defence, only for the rebound to fall to Elliot Evans, who made no mistake finding the top right corner from outside the box.

Rhyl came out for the second half with a fresh impetus following some great work from the in-form Macauley Taylor who, on the right-hand side, delivered a teasing cross for veteran forward Carl Lamb, whose looping header found the top-left corner, making the score 2-0 after 46 minutes.

It was a Taylor-Lamb combination again that increased the Lilywhites’ lead further, following a right-footed cross from Taylor that found Lamb at the back post, whose neat header found the bottom left corner, making it 3-0 on 50 minutes.

Then, with 77 minutes on the clock, Taylor was in the thick of the action again, this time with a mazy run on the right-hand side that led in to the penalty area where the ball fell to club player of the month Ellis.

He made no mistake with a neat finish; ensuring the hosts were 4-0 to the good and taking all three points.

The 4-0 thrashing took the Lilywhites up to third in the NWCFA East League Premier Division table just behind current leaders Llannefydd and Prestatyn Sports with a deficit of just two points, with three and two games in hand respectively.

After a significant win, manager Gareth Thomas added he was “really pleased with today’s match as we controlled the game from start to finish”.

Thomas also heaped praise on Evans, saying: “Elliot was head and shoulders above the rest today; at only 19 years of age, he produced an excellent mature performance.”

Next up for the Lilywhites is an away quarter final fixture against Llandudno Junction in the NWCFA Intermediate Challenge Cup at the Flyover, kicking off at 1.30pm on Saturday, March 5.