RHYL booked their place in the JD Welsh Cup fourth round with a comfortable 2-0 home win over STM Sports.

The Lilywhites’ booked their place in the hat at the expense of the Nathaniel MG Cup finalists, who ended the contest with just eight men after losing their heads in the second period, but manager Eddie Maurice-Jones was critical of his side’s finishing following the clash.

He said: “We are in the next round and that’s all that matters but performance-wise it was not good enough and nowhere near what we are capable of.

“I thought we played down to their level and made it a battle which it didn’t need to be, but credit to the lads they came through it.

“As the game went on the gaps started to appear and we should have punished them. We had big chances to increase the lead and we needed a bit more composure in the final third as you have to be taking those chances whatever level you are playing at.

“We did look quite tight at the back and that’s been a big focus of late, to defend in units and get people behind the ball, and I thought their possession in the early stages played into our hands a bit.”

James Murphy, Sam Molyneux and Arek Piskorski all went close for the Lilies’ during the opening stages of the contest, with Molyneux finding the net after good work from Cai Owen on 17 minutes only to see his effort ruled out for offside.

The home side continued to spurn good chances midway through the half, with Murphy, Aaron Hassall and Molyneux the latest culprits, but STM found themselves down to ten men with 37 on the clock when Josh Graham’s tackle on Piskorski forced referee Huw Jones into a red card.

From the resulting free kick, Hassall’s delivery evaded everyone and found its way into the break to break the deadlock.

After the break saw the hosts put their numerical advantage to good use with improved possession throughout, with defender Ben Nash coming closest to doubling their tally when his goal-bound header was hacked off the line.

Things went from bad-to-worse for the visitors in the final quarter as Herman Yohanes and Marcus Jones both dismissed in quick succession leaving them with eight men, and the Lilies’ wrapped up proceedings with two remaining as Creamer prodded in a rebound after Owen’s initial effort was diverted into his path.