Penybont come out on top

The Silkmen went down 1-0 at home to Rhys Griffiths’ side and remain embroiled in a relegation scrap at the foot of the table.

And it doesn’t get much easier as their next game is a home derby against Cymru Premier champions Connah’s Quay Nomads at The Essity Stadium tomorrow night.

“You are never pleased when you lose a game but it was slightly expected, considering we haven’t played for 11 weeks and we had six players making their debuts,” said Gibson.

“We started rustily but that was only to be expected. Penybont had a game at Newtown on Tuesday and it helped them. I went to watch it and in the first half of that game, they were a bit like we were on Saturday.

“But second half, we improved and I saw positives that certainly bode well for the future.

“Rob Hughes was creative in midfield and we want to get the best out of him.

“Jon Rushton is a goalkeeper who has come to us and has experience of playing for Connah’s Quay. He had a good game.”

Rushton could do nothing about the goal as he was beaten after just 12 minutes, Nathan Wood netting when he smashed home Mael Davies’ cut back.

Despite the disappointment of not being able to score on their own patch, there were also encouraging signs up front where new signing Jordan Buckley looked as if he could be handful.

Buckley is one of five new arrivals from Warrington Town and Gibson added: “We saw glimpses of what he can offer us in the future and there were signs that he and Mark Cadwallader have the makings of a good front two. Josh Amis also showed good touches too.”

Penybont boss Rhys Griffiths admitted it was a real battle.

“It was exhausting watching so I can’t imagine what it was like playing,” said Griffiths.

“The first 20 minutes we were outstanding and played the game plan perfectly. We could have been two or three up.

“After that the last hour was a real battle but we showed some real resilience.”