CPD Y Rhyl 1879 has secured a high-profile friendly against National League hopefuls and Hollywood-owned Wrexham, who will be bringing a strong XI to Belle Vue.

This fixture is sure to excite the Lilywhites faithful as they will be hoping to catch a glimpse of Wrexham’s Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

The fixture has been scheduled for Friday, July 29 (kick-off 7.15pm).

Rhyl began their 2022 pre-season schedule on Saturday (June 25) with a 3-1 home defeat to tier two Ruthin Town, who secured a credible fifth-place league finish last term in the JD Cymru North.

Gareth Thomas’ side were bolstered by the arrivals of former Flint Town United duo Alex Jones and Jack Higgins, both of whom opted to join the Lilywhites following spells in the Cymru Premier division.

Also joining is former St Asaph left-sided player Jack Davies, following his spell at Llannefydd last term.

Aaron White is another new signing, joining from Brickfield where he was captain last season, while Rhyl have also secured the services of talented young goalkeeper Luke Wilmot, who most recently played for Prestatyn Sports.

Sam Kersh has also joined the team from Holywell Town; a strong, powerful defender who has previously turned out for Prestatyn Town.

On a wet, windy Saturday afternoon Thomas opted to give full debuts to Jones, Higgins, Wilmot and White.

Before the game, both sides shared their respect through a minute’s silence for former club secretary Dennis McNamee and club steward Leo Whittingham, who both died recently.

First to break the deadlock was Ruthin thanks to a thunderous 25-yard drive by Jamie Cumming, leaving Wilmot with no chance in the Lilywhites’ net.

Ruthin found the back of the net once again as Josh Jones stroked home a right-footed strike from within the penalty area.

Then, on the stroke of half time, Jordan Worthington caught the away keeper stranded with a fantastic left-footed hit, making it 2-1 after the first 45 minutes.

Ruthin started the second half on the front foot once again and secured their third and decisive goal of the game as Will Owen nodded home from a corner, making the score 3-1.

The Lilywhites wowed the home crowd with some great interplay in the second half but couldn’t quite carve out any clear-cut opportunities, the friendly fixture finishing 3-1 to Ruthin following an excellent workout for both teams.

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Thomas said: “Really pleased with the effort from the lads against a very strong Ruthin team.

“It’s a learning curve and we gave them three cheap goals; that being said, we competed and passed the ball well. Overall, happy with the workout.”

Next up on Saturday July 2, Rhyl welcome Holyhead to Belle Vue, which will be another tough tier two test for Thomas’ side (kick-off 2.30pm).