CAERNARFON Town secured derby bragging rights with a narrow 2-1 JD Welsh Cup win at Bangor City.

Almost 2,500 supporters crammed into the VSM Stadium for the fourth round clash, which saw the Canaries emerge victorious to reach the last eight of the competition.

The Cofis now turn their attention to Phase Two of the JD Welsh Premier League season, which begins at home to pacesetters Barry Town United on Saturday (2.30pm), with the Citizens’ welcoming Gresford Athletic providing their issue with their Nantporth base can be resolved.

Manager Sean Eardley, said: “I thought the boys were brilliant. We knew Bangor would be a stiff test and despite all their troubles off the field they put in a good effort.

“To see all the yellow and green at the ground was unbelievable and it is something that will stick with me. I now know what it means to the supporters.

“I have to give full credit to the ground staff for getting the game on and I thought the pitch played well considering how bad the weather was. I am ecstatic with how we performed and this one is for the supporters that have followed us all over Wales.”

A frantic start saw both sides spurn good chances in the opening exchanges, but the away side got a crucial breakthrough on the half-hour mark when striker Jamie Breese produced a deft finish over Nathan Wolland to open the scoring.

This provoked a strong response from the hosts, who levelled just before the break when a curling corner from Jake Phillips evaded everyone and found its way into the net.

The Canaries battled back after the interval and got their noses in front yet again courtesy of a Gareth Edwards header, and they held firm in the face of sustained pressure to book their place in the hat.

City boss Gary Taylor-Fletcher, said: “The lads are gutted. Their performance was magnificent and I thought we were the better team on the day, but fine margins in both boxes has cost us at the end of the day.

“We have shown what we are about as a team. The weather didn’t help and the pitch didn’t suit how we wanted to play, but we still tried to do the right things and I thought we were more than a match for them.”