Aberystwyth Town 1
Prestatyn Town 0
PRESTATYN boss Neil Gibson will be looking to avert a hat-trick of single-goal defeats after this latest hairline blow when the dipping Seasiders face Neath in WPL combat in Saturday's S4C live televised match at Bastion Gardens (3.45).
Hoping for a repeat of their 3-2 victory on their last appearance at Park Avenue, Prestatyn's goal supply again dried up in a disappointing second consecutive 1-0 scoreline following the frustrating verdict at Newtown a week earlier.
Prestatyn should have gone in front only for Ross Stephens heading a rebound into the side netting from a great position after a pile-driver from Lee Hunt had been pushed out.
The decisive blow came on the stroke of half time when Aberystwyth's ex-Everton defender James McCarten surprisingly beat Jon Hill-Dunt with a rolled-on free kick from just outside the box which the keeper would have been expected to save. It proved a rare but costly error.
Even so Prestatyn were indebted to Hill-Dunt for three outstanding saves in a tense second half to prevent Aber from widening the margin.
This win lifts Aber into third place in the table while Prestatyn slip to third from bottom with three points to show from their opening four matches - a misleading position manager Gibson believes.
Said Gibson: "Although we've lost three of our opening four games I don't think we should be too hard on ourselves.
“We felt unlucky to lose our last two tight matches and if we'd been able to score first from the chances created, then we would have been looking at nine points now instead of three!"
The Seasiders progressed in the WPL Loosemore’s League Cup thanks to a 2-0 victory over Bala Town on Tuesday night.
First half goals for Ross Stephens and Lee Hunt, who converted a penalty, sealed the win, which earned Prestatyn a tough second round encounter with Bangor City.
Prestatyn Town Ladies were left kicking their heels on Sunday when their debut match at Caernarfon Town in the North Wales Ladies League was called off as the Canaries were unable to find a suitable pitch.