Conwy Suffer Last Gasp Defeat at Ruthin

The defeat puts the Tangerines back in the bottom three and now needing teams to lose in order to finish outside the danger zone.

It all started well for the Tangerines with the returning Joe Chaplin bolstering the attack with Steve Foster and Alex Titchiner causing the home defence problems. In form Ruthin striker Jordan MaCarter had a great chance to put his side ahead when through on goal but his low shot went wide. But it was Foster who put Conwy Borough ahead with his first for the club on 25 minutes with a looping volley from the edge of the box which dipped in over the home keeper.

The Tangerines should of gone in at the break further ahead when Titchiner released Chaplin inside the box but the ball bobbled just as he went to shoot which caused his effort to screw horribly wide. Chaplin then hit the woodwork following a Conwy corner and the lead remained at a single goal going in at the break.

The home side came out with purpose at the start of the second half putting the Conwy rearguard under pressure and it was the lively McCarter who put his side level with a close range finish just two minutes into the second half.

Conwy regained the advantage when a penalty was awarded for a handball in the box on 67 minutes Joe Chaplin stepped up to despatch the spot kick on his return and claim his 15th goal of the season.

However, the lead didn’t last long and a Ruthin break led to another goal just a few minutes later when Llyr Morris equalised for the home side.

Conwy’s forward play was disjointed and not anywhere near to the level of the first half of the game. The home sides winner arrived in injury time from a corner kick which was met by a strong header from Kevin Evans to condemn the Tangerines to another painful injury time defeat.

“We should of got something from the game” said Borough boss Brian Pritchard.

“But we have let ourselves down in the second half, probably thinking the job was done.”

“Full credit to Ruthin as they kept going to the end and proved that recent results are no fluke.

"We need to take a lesson from that defeat in the remaining two games and ensure we keep going to the final whistle."

With other results not helping the cause Conwy Borough will now likely need to win the final two matches away to Caersws on Saturday and then at home to Mold on Easter Saturday to stand any chance of survival.