BANGOR 1876 maintained their perfect season with a hard-fought 3-1 victory at Llanelwy Athletic.

The high-profile side were given a slight scare against the Vale of Clwyd and Conwy League Premier Division outfit before eventually progressing in the NWCFA Junior Cup, with the fixture played at the home of JD Cymru North title contenders Rhyl.

A cagey opening saw little in the way of goalmouth activity, with a Shaun Lock free kick forcing Athletic stopper Joe O’Brien into a smart stop and Steve Kirk going close at the other end moments later.

The first telling moment of the game arrived on 26 minutes when the away side broke the deadlock thanks to an instinctive effort from Dylan Williams, who turned in a rebound after Leon Owens’ initial effort was parried into his path by O’Brien.

This was met by a rousing response from the hosts, who managed to secure a shock leveller when a free-kick fell into the path of Liam Rowland-Jones, who demonstrated his trademark composure to put away the chance with 31 on the clock.

After the break saw the newly formed fan-owned club raise their game considerably during the opening exchanges, which resulted in them taking the lead for the second time when Lock’s free-kick was squeezed into the net by Luke Steele on 51 minutes.

The introduction of prolific pair Jamie Petrie and Dylan Summers-Jones provided an additional injection of pace in the final third for the away side, who were being asked a lot of questions by a much-improved Athletic side midway through the half.

Petrie’s influence on the squad has been considerable so far this term, and this was further reflected with a stunning delivery that was finished off in style by Benn Lundstram to round off the scoring and condemn Athletic to an early exit from the competition.