BANGOR City saw their Huws Gray Alliance title hopes dealt a blow as they suffered a heavy 4-0 home loss at the hands of Ruthin Town.

The Citizens’ were punished for a poor start that they could not recover from against Chris Williams’ side, with the game played at the home of Llandudno FC due to their ongoing problems regarding their Nantporth base.

Gary Taylor-Fletcher’s young guns will look to get their campaign back on track this Saturday when they face a tricky trip to in-form championship contenders Flint Town United (2.30pm).

Things got off to the worst possible start for the hosts and they fell behind with just a minute on the clock when prolific striker Llyr Morris found the net from a tight angle.

The away side were notably boosted by this early advantage and they doubled their tally on 14 minutes when the outstanding Morris once again slotted past Nathan Woolland after his initial effort was blocked by Jordan Piggott.

Morris almost secured his hat-trick midway through the half but spurned his latest opportunity, dragging his shot wide of the target under pressure.

The home side were finding it hard to get a foothold in the game, but they did carve out an opening on the half hour mark when Taylor-Fletcher fired wide, and Alex Boss was denied a goalscoring opportunity in the box on 35 minutes after he was smothered by the Town rearguard.

They were made to pay for their lack of efficiency in the final third just before the break when Ryan Jones unleashed a sensational free-kick that flew into the top corner and gave Woolland no chance.

After the interval saw the visitors’ presented with a chance to seal the points on 53 minutes when they were awarded a penalty, and Ilan Hughes held his nerve to fire in Town’s fourth.

Taylor-Fletcher hit the bar with a header soon after following an impressive spell of possession, but that was as good as it got as the away side saw out the game with minimal fuss.