A VALIANT second half display from Rhyl was not enough to derail The New Saints as the Lilywhites lost ground in the race for third place.

The 2-1 defeat leaves Greg Strong’s men seven points behind third-placed Bangor City with a game in hand, although a string of victories would set up a mouthwatering end-of-season third placed decider at Nantporth.

Saints then began to dominate the early proceedings, with Chris Jones forcing Ramsay into a smart stop with a thunderous shot, and Matty Williams stroking an effort wide from a good position. And the inevitable happened just moments later as the impressive Mullan twisted and turned and squared it for Wilde who struck to continue his hot scoring form.

It was one-way-traffic as Aeron Edwards, Williams and Chris Sergeant all went close for the hosts, but the determined centre half pairing of Chris Rimmer and Ryan Astles managed to steady the ship before the break.

TNS came out in similar fashion for the second period, with Wilde shooting over.

However after a lull in play and a few half chances it was the Lilywhites who got themselves back in the match.

Danny Laverty worked the ball well down the left and crossed for Woodward, who floated in at the back post to head across Paul Harrison and give the travelling Rhyl faithful something to shout about.

However the Saints always carried a threat and with ten minutes to go, Marriott’s dangerous corner was flicked in by Edwards.