ABERYSTWYTH Town manager Neville Powell could take plenty of heart from a positive 1-1 draw at Cardiff Met, as his side prepares to complete the first phase of their season at home to high-flying Connah’s Quay Nomads this weekend.

Eliot Evans handed Cardiff Met the lead with a free-kick on the stroke of half time, but John McKenna flicked in Ashley Young’s free kick prior to the hour mark to earn the Seasiders a point.

The Aber manager said he was pleased with the response from his players after back-to-back defeats to Carmarthen, and he is looking for another positive showing in front of the home supporters on Saturday (ko 5.15pm).

“The lads put in a good shift, deserved at least a point, and could have come away with three,” said Powell.

“When you come to a place like this on a Saturday night, and on live television, you’ve got to pleased with a point against what was a good side.

“We played some good football, created chances and defended a lot better than we have been away from home.

“It was a poor goal to concede on the stroke of half-time, but we said to our players at half-time to keep playing as they were, because the game would be won and lost in central midfield."

The Seasiders made two changes to the starting line-up from their New Year’s Day defeat to Carmarthen, with Malcolm Melvin and new signing Tom Owens replacing Craig Hobson and John McKenna.

Defender McKenna replaced Ryan Wollacott on the stroke of half-time after a nasty clash of heads with Met striker Dan Spencer, with Evans scoring from the resulting free kick.

Aber came out for the second half with real tempo and intensity and on 59 minutes McKenna glanced Young’s free kick into the bottom corner to make it 1-1.

“We got the tactics spot on, and I thought Malcolm Melvin, John Owen and Ashley Young were excellent in the middle, and they enabled others to get on the ball," said Powell.

“We had a couple of other chances in the second half which might have gone in, but we can’t be too disappointed with a point from the game.”

The Seasiders are four points clear of second-from-bottom Prestatyn - but a 3-2 midweek win for rivals Newtown against Cardiff Met at Latham Park has moved them five points clear of Aber.

Powell is looking for his side to end the first phase of their campaign before the league split with a positive result at home to high-flying Connah’s Quay.

Andy Morrison’s side regained second spot with a solid home win over Barry Town last weekend, and it will be a tough test for the Seasiders, who lost 5-1 at the Deeside last month.

“We’ll kick on now to the Connah’s Quay game, and we’ll be trying to get the three points before the league split,” said the Aberystwyth manager.

“We’ve got good players in the dressing room, and they realise they let themselves down over Christmas, especially in the Boxing Day game.

“They’re a good set of lads, and shouldn’t be where they are, but that shows how competitive this league is.

“We’ll keep trying to get better, and I’m sure that if we keep putting in similar performances we will be okay.

“It would be great to get the results for the people who come to watch us.

“Every game is a big one for us, and we know Connah’s Quay are one of the top teams in the league, and they turned us over 5-1 away from home.

“The games are coming thick and fast, and it’s a tough month to finish with, but if we put in the work rate we did today, we will not be far away.”

The Nomads remain in second spot, with a two-point cushion over big spending Bangor City, after goals from Callum Morris, Michael Wilde and Declan Poole secured a 3-0 win over Barry.

“The lads have got to take great credit because, like I’ve already said, Bangor have assembled a squad this year to win the league," said manager Andy Morrison.

"They’ve invested a massive amount of money and for us to be ahead of them at this stage of the season is quite remarkable.”

Morrison, who handed a debut to new striker Andy Owens from the bench, was pleased with the manner of the win over Barry, who needed a positive result to keep their top six hopes alive.

“It’s fantastic,” said Morrison. “I knew the importance of a win for them and I knew they would be a dangerous animal.

"They changed their shape to make themselves big, strong and organised and I thought, unluckily for them, they caught us on a really good day."

He added: "Aberystwyth will be a real test - they have been very good at home and will feel they should have beat Cardiff Met in their last away game, as all teams this season, on their day, can beat anyone.

"They have had some great results - after our home game where we beat them 5-1, they bounced back the following week with a 7-1 victory over Prestatyn, so we are under no illusions as to just how tough of a game this will be.

"We will look to continue our good form and go to Aber on the front foot and look to win the game."The Nomads come into the game in fine form, having lost only once in the past eight games, which included that 5-1 victory over Aber at Deeside Stadium in early December.Since then, the Nomads have gone on to pick up victories over Newtown, Cefn Druids and Barry Town United, while Aber bounced back against Prestatyn, hitting them for seven, but have since lost against TNS, both games against Carmarthen and drew with Cardiff Met.The game kicks off at the later time of 5.15pm, as do all Welsh Premier League games on Saturday.