RHYL bowed out of the JD Welsh Cup at the fourth-round stage after a dramatic penalty shootout defeat at Cambrian and Clydach BGC.

The Lilywhites had nothing to show from a spirited display after a long trip to South Wales, with nothing separating the two teams after 120 minutes in a 2-2 stalemate.

Eddie Maurice-Jones’ side will look to bounce back and continue their outstanding recent Huws Gray Alliance form when they welcome red hot Conwy Borough to the Educate Group Stadium on Friday (7.30pm).

The Lilies’ carved out the first chance of the tie when Matt Cook fluffed his lines in front of goal after good work from Aaron Hassall, with Joe Evans and Callum Shephard both going close at the other end in quick succession.

Forward Mike Pritchard came within inches of hitting the net when he saw a close-range effort come back off the post just after the break, and the home side took full advantage of this miss on 47 minutes when Corey Shephard caught Rory Crowther off his line with a sensational strike from 40 yards to open the scoring.

Crowther had to be at his best to prevent Cameron Keetch’s powerful free-kick from finding the target moments later, which proved even more significant on 57 minutes when the visitors secured a leveller courtesy of Barry Torrence, who finished off a James Murphy cross for his fourth goal in as many games.

Both sides wasted good opportunities in the closing stages to send the game into extra-time, and once again it was the hosts that seized the initiative on 107 minutes when Mike Jones made no mistake after being put through by Liam Reed.

This joy proved to be short-lived as the Lilies’ restored parity to the score line on 11 minutes when defender Ben Nash hammered home from close range to take the game to penalties.

Things did not go according to plan for the away side in the shootout, with Joe Sullivan, Ross Stephens and Pritchard all missing their efforts to condemn them to defeat.