Pontypridd United moved off the bottom of the JD Cymru Premier table with a statement 3-0 victory in their phase two opener against Barry Town United at Jenner Park.
The hosts had ended phase one in impressive form, but an ice cool finish from Ben Ahmun opened the scoring in the first half before Owain Jones and Owen Pritchard added their names to the scoresheet after the break to secure back-to-back away victories for the Dragons.
Aberystwyth Town also earned a vital three points in the relegation battle as they triumphed 1-0 over Haverfordwest County at Park Avenue on Friday night.
The decisive moment came four minutes before half-time as XX’s free-kick delivery into the area sailed all the way through to Iwan Lewis, who squeezed his effort beyond Dave Jones. The Seasiders are now two points above the drop zone.
Haverfordwest’s defeat allowed Penybont to go top of the Playoff Conference with a 2-1 away win at Colwyn Bay on Saturday afternoon.
Chris Venables marked his return from injury by opening the scoring with a header on the stroke of half-time, before Swansea City loanee Lincoln McFayden netted on his Bont debut to double the advantage 10 minutes after the break.
Colwyn Bay substitute Matty Hill halved the deficit in stoppage time, but it was too little too late as the Seagulls slipped to the bottom of the table.
In the Championship Conference, second-place Connah’s Quay Nomads were held to a 1-1 draw by Caernarfon Town at the Essity Stadium on Friday night.
Adam Davies gave the Cofis the lead with a close-range finish midway through the first half and the Nomads’ task looked to have been made harder when Michael Wilde was shown a straight red card for elbowing Phil Mooney on the hour mark.
However, Neil Gibson’s side salvaged a point when Ryan Harrington fired a superb strike from outside of the box into the bottom corner with 14 minutes remaining.
Bala Town and Cardiff Met kicked off their phase two campaigns with a tightly contested 1-1 draw at Maes Tegid.
19-year old Archer Finley Skiverton opened the scoring with his first senior goal for the club, heading home from Tom Price’s corner on the stroke of half-time.
Bala’s equaliser arrived with 10 minutes remaining, as George Newell’s penalty was saved by Alex Lang but the Lakesiders forward was quick to react and fired home the rebound to earn his side a point.
JD Cymru Premier results
Connah’s Quay Nomads 1-1 Caernarfon Town
Aberystwyth Town 1-0 Haverfordwest County
Barry Town United 0-3 Pontypridd United
Bala Town 1-1 Cardiff Met
Colwyn Bay 1-2 Penybont
