CPD Y Rhyl 1879 took part in the only Ardal North West fixture of the weekend as they drew 1-1 at Flint Mountain on Saturday (January 7).

Lilywhites boss Gareth Thomas was forced into making a late change as Luke Wilmot became ill during the warmup and was replaced in the starting line up by Ryan Roberts.

After a goalless first half, Dan Sim slid a wonderful ball through to Macauley Taylor shortly after the break, before Taylor beat the defender, cutting inside, to fire the ball past John Danby in the Flint goal.

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This was Taylor’s final contribution of the game, as just two minutes later, he would be helped off the field by physio Colin Edwards after receiving lengthy on field treatment for an ankle injury.

Poor discipline again affected the game for the Lilywhites; on the hour mark, referee Tony Moore was called by his assistant who indicated that Jonny Taylor had used his elbow in an off-the-ball incident with a Flint player.

Referee Moore opted to show Taylor a straight red card for the offence.

Although being a man down for one-third of the game, Rhyl weathered the storm, with resilient defending by Miles Todd and Reece Fairhurst limited the home side to long-range efforts.

But with little more than 10 minutes left to play, Flint would finally find a breakthrough, as Mountain newcomer Aaron Hassall struck the post from a free kick, before the rebound was fired neatly away by Kyle Smyth.

In the closing moments, both sides would get an opportunity to take all three points.

Flint would see a header hit the bar, and 1879‘s Jack Higgins struck the home side’s wall with a free-kick from the edge of the box.

Following the game, Gareth Thomas praised his side’s commitment and energy.

Thomas had a special mention for debutant Tom Kemp, who also, along with Dan Sim in midfield, kept the Flint side at bay until the 80th minute.

Next up for 1879 will be a trip down the A55 to face Felinheli on Saturday, January 14 (2pm kick-off).