ABERYSTWYTH Town boss Neville Powell is looking to carry his side’s seven-match unbeaten league run into the JD Welsh Cup third round this weekend.

A 1-1 draw with Carmarthen on Friday kept Aber in fifth place in the JD Welsh Premier League, just six points off the leaders, and four points clear of seventh-placed Caernarfon as they look to confirm their place in the top six at the league split.

This weekend sees the return of the Welsh Cup as last season’s finalists Aber travel to face Welsh League outfit Cwmamman United for their third round encounter.

Powell will be keen to avoid any shock upset ahead of their crunch JD Welsh Premier League clash away against Caernarfon in a fortnight’s time.

“Every point is vital now,” said Powell after seeing Declan Walker’s early header be cancelled out by a Liam Thomas penalty on Friday night.

“We’d have liked to have won, and our first half performance probably warranted three points, but we only went in at half-time 1-0 up, and obviously they got the penalty and clung on to it.

“It could turn out to be a really good point in our quest for the top six, they were difficult to break down, and on the second half performance a draw was probably fair.”

After five successive wins, Powell will be pleased that his side’s unbeaten run continued, to consolidate a place in the top half of the table.

“It shows how far we’ve come as a team that the lads are disappointed at just coming in with a point,” he said.

“It could be a huge point at the end of the season, we’ve still got six league games (until the league split) but maybe a win and a draw will get us where we want to be.

“It’s more than we had hoped for at the start of the season, we’ve had a great run and there is a lot of confidence in the team, and that brings you wins and points.

“The players want to get in the top six and win things, they’re ambitious, and it’s good to see they have spirit and they are working hard.

“You can’t win them all, but you have got to make sure that you don’t lose, and we’re a point closer to where we want to be in the league.

“It would be a fantastic achievement for everyone involved at the club, but there is a lot of work to be done.

“We’ve got a break from the league for two weeks, and have a really tough Welsh Cup tie down in south Wales, so we will make sure we are prepared for that.”

Aber, who reached the 2018 final before losing to Connah’s Quay, will be keen to get past a Cwmamman side that are lying sixth in the Welsh League division one.

“I’ve had a great time in the Welsh Cup in my career,” said Powell, who has been involved in seven finals, including a hat-trick of wins as the manager of Bangor City.

“I’ve had similar games against sides from a lower league, and we’re under no illusions, and we are going to prepare properly for it.

“It’s a big competition and we want to do well in it. Last season we got to the final and you could see what it meant to the people of the town. We want to do it again.

“Every player wants to do well in the competition, and we will go down there knowing that we are in for a battle, but hopefully the quality will shine through.”

Aberystwyth Town’s Under 19s eventually ran out as 3-0 victors over a strong Merthyr Town side, with goals from Liam Doherty, Jack Rimmer and Steff Gittins.

Still unbeaten in the league this season, Bari Morgan’s side are top of the Welsh Premier Development League South as they prepare to head to Merthyr for the return match on Sunday.