BALA Town completed back-to-back wins in the JD Welsh Pemier League as an excellent 1-0 win over Caernarfon served to give them plenty of confidence and momentum going into the play-offs.

The sixth-placed Lakesiders, who had beaten Newtown the previous week, face the Robins in the semi-finals on Friday, 10 May at Latham Park in good heart.

Henry Jones met Mike Hayes’ cross from the left to head home the only goal of the game with just three minutes gone.

Bala had been quick of the blocks, and in the very first minute Mike Hayes outran Ryan Williams, but he fired wide.

After Jones’ had opened the scoring, the hosts could have gone further ahead when Keiran Smith saw his shot collected by keeper Alex Ramsay, before Hayes’ cross was blocked out for a corner.

Jones almost capitalised on Ramsay dropping the ball, but unfortunately he put it wide of the post after 20 minutes.

Bala were seeing plenty of the ball and working well, with Hayes almost adding a second as he tried to get on the end of Jones’ direct ball across the face of goal.

A minute before the interval, Hayes had a golden chance to score when he got onto the end of Nathan Burke’s throughball, but it went just wide of the far post.

The visitors came more in the game in the second half and were having good spells of pressure, but they failed to seriously test Keighan Jones in the Town net.

Cai Jones fired over after Jones had kept out Darren Thomas’ long range strike, but Bala were defending well and proving to be a threat on the counter-attack.

Hayes, who was making his 100th Welsh Premier start, should have got on the scoresheet when he ran into the box, but he saw his chance cleared - and he was then denied by a cracking save by Ramsay after Sean Smith’s excellent ball.

Two minutes from time Noah Edwards unleashed a fierce strike from the edge of the penalty box, which rocketed against the post to deny the Cofis’ an equaliser.

With the game complete it was looking like a rematch down on The Oval in the play-off semi-final, but a 96th minute penalty at Barry Town meant Bala will face Newtown at Latham Park instead.

The Robins needed to win, and to get a four goal swing overall to take fourth place from the Cofis, and that looked like it was about to happen as they were 3-0 up against the Dragons going into stoppage time - until Kayne McLaggon’s 96th minute penalty meant Caernarfon regained fourth position by a single goal.

Caernarfon Town will now host Cardiff Met at the Oval on Saturday, 11 May.

BALA TOWN: K Jones, A Burns, S Smith, A Miley, S Jones, N Burke, C Seargeant (A Stephens 83’), K Smith (I Sheridan 90’), C Venables, H Jones (E Horwood 87’), M Hayes. Subs not used: S J Jones, J Edwards.

CAERNARFON: A Ramsay, J Williams, N Craig, G Edwards, G Evans (J Breese 64’), D Thomas, D Brookwell (S Bradley 73’), N Edwards, R Williams, C Jones, L Smith. Subs not used: R Roberts, O Goulding (gk), K Roberts, D Owen, C Morgan. Referee: K Parry. Att: 565.