Gresford Athletic picked up their first three points of the 2025/26 JD Cymru North season against Ruthin Town at home on Friday night.

The Colliers found the first couple of chances of the game, with Charlie Mann and Iwan Roberts linking up well in the 16th minute and 19th minute, when the former's strike flew just over the crossbar.

Jake Roberts nearly found the net with his 24th-minute free-kick, but it whistled over the bar.

Ruthin Town forced a close-range shot on goal, their best chance of the half, which smacked the woodwork in the 30th minute.

Then, in the 43rd minute, Jake Roberts broke the deadlock and opened the scoring for Gresford Athletic, getting on the end of a Dan Collins cross with a diving header.

HALF-TIME: Gresford Athletic 1-0 Ruthin Town

The second half saw Gresford Athletic have much more of the ball, which proved to be deadly as Iwan Roberts' strike doubled the advantage in the 58th minute, with Dan Collins providing his second assist of the game.

In the 70th minute, Jake Roberts aimed for his brace, but his driven shot is saved by Ruthin Town’s Dan Goldston.

Substitute Tom Smith almost made it 3-0 and managed to get the ball into the net, but it was ruled out for offside by Referee Karl Berry.

Tom Smith continued to push forward and produced some good work, managing shots on goal in both the 83rd minute and 85th minute, but neither are able to add to the scoreline.

Ruthin Town did pull one back, though, with Alex Smith finding himself unlucky to divert a rapid ball past Lewis Dutton and into The Colliers' goal in the 88th minute.

Alex Smith kept his head up and produced a great block in added time to block a dangerous Ruthin Town effort just before the final whistle blew for Gresford Athletic to earn all three points.

FULL-TIME: Gresford Athletic 2-1 Ruthin Town

Gresford Athletic

Starting XI: Dutton (GK), A. Smith, J. Smith, Orton, Nelson (Buxton - 75'), Griffiths (C), Johnson (Williams - 75'), Collins, I. Roberts (T. Smith - 71'), Mann (Gallagher-Keenan - 67'), J. Roberts

Goalscorers: J. Roberts, I. Roberts

Yellow Cards: A. Smith, Gallagher-Keenan

Ruthin Town

Starting XI: Goldston (GK), Nash, Cox, Lambert, Dougherty, O. Davies (C), Holland, E. Davies, Cooke (Kell - 82'), Evans, Sumner (Webster - 61')

Goalscorers: A. Smith (OG)

Yellow Cards: Lambert, Evans, Dougherty

Subs Not Used: Jones, Thomas, Williams

Match Officials

Referee: Karl Berry
Assistant Referees: Gavin Maloney, Gareth Williams