Carmarthen Town interim manager Neil Smothers praised his side’s character after they continued to battle against relegation with a third-straight win.
11th-placed Carmarthen beat Llandudno 3-2 at Richmond Park on Saturday in what was a must-win game for west Wales side.
Carmarthen remain within five points of their nearest rivals Aberystwyth, and that gap could further close when the two sides go head-to-head next Friday night.
“I’m delighted with the character the players showed out there – it was against a tough shift against a good team,” Smothers explained after the game.
“It’s the same the approach that we’ve taken since coming in after the split, that we keep our heads down, we look at what’s in front of us and we come up with a way to try and beat them,” he added.
Luke Bowen put the Old Gold ahead inside the opening minute but in a frantic opening, Lee Thomas equalised for Llandudno in the third minute.
Llandudno briefly led through Danny Shaw early in the second-half until Carmarthen immediately replied through Aidan O’Kelly, 60 seconds later. On 69 minutes Carmarthen finally regained their lead as Liam Thomas’ penalty proved decisive.
Connah’s Quay continued their strong end of season form and continue to march towards an automatic European spot, following a slender 1-0 win over Bangor City.
The Nomads sealed their fourth win on the bounce when Callum Morris’ second-half header broke the deadlock.
Bangor City were looking to avenge last week’s 6-1 Welsh Cup defeat to Connah’s Quay but were unable to find an equaliser.
With goalkeeper John Danby having made a block save and out of position, Bangor had a golden chance to level when the ball dropped to Luke Wall, 25-yards from goal, but his attempt came back off the crossbar and into the grateful arms of Danby.
The frustrated visitors were still unable to capitalise even after Nomads defender Jonny Spittle received his marching orders for a second bookable offence. In the closing stages, Steven Hewitt broke clear with only Danby to beat from seven yards, but flashed his attempt wide off the post.
With that win, Connah’s Quay pull three points clear in second place of Bangor, with two games remaining. The result also means Bala Town, fourth, can no longer finish second, ruling them out of the remaining automatic European place.
Cefn Druids made it back-to-back wins as they recorded a 3-1 victory to leapfrog Cardiff Met at The Rock.
Cardiff Met were winless in seven attempts heading into their trip to north Wales and threatened to end that unwanted sequence when Eliot Evans’ delivery was headed in by Jordan Lam.
Cefn Druids midfielder Arek Piskorski turned in another impressive performance, slotting the ball past Met keeper Daniel Evans to make it 2-1, having earlier set up James Davies to equalise for the Druids.
Zimbabwe international Alec Mudimu, back from suspension, added to Cardiff Met’s woes, tapping in from close range to seal the win.
JD Welsh Premier League results
Bala Town 1 The New Saints 4; Prestatyn 0 Aberystwyth 1; Carmarthen 3 Llandudno 2; Cefn Druids 3 Cardiff Met 1; Connah’s Quay 1 Bangor City 0; Barry Town vs Newtown (Sun)
| Pos. | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | The New Saints | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 77 | 28 | 49 | 70 |
| 2 | Connahs Quay Nomads | 30 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 45 | 24 | 21 | 57 |
| 3 | Bangor City | 30 | 17 | 3 | 10 | 46 | 31 | 15 | 54 |
| 4 | Bala Town | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 33 | 42 | -9 | 49 |
| 5 | Cefn Druids | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 36 | 40 | -4 | 41 |
| 6 | Cardiff Metropolitan University | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 39 | 35 | 4 | 39 |
| 7 | Barry Town United FC | 28 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 34 | 28 | 6 | 45 |
| 8 | Newtown | 29 | 11 | 3 | 15 | 45 | 49 | -4 | 36 |
| 9 | Llandudno FC | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 37 | 41 | -4 | 35 |
| 10 | Aberystwyth Town | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 41 | 52 | -11 | 33 |
| 11 | Carmarthen Town AFC | 30 | 8 | 4 | 18 | 34 | 60 | -26 | 28 |
| 12 | Prestatyn Town | 29 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 27 | 64 | -37 | 17 |