CAERNARFON Town concluded their pre-season friendly fixtures with a 4-0 home loss to Halesowen Town.

The Canaries were given another stern test by English opposition in readiness for their return to competitive action, which starts this Saturday with a Nathaniel MG Cup second round clash at newly promoted JD Cymru North side Corwen on Saturday (2.30pm).

The visitors made a strong start to the contest and opened the scoring after just seven minutes when Josh Hawker unleashed a 25-yard free-kick that flew into the top corner.

Things got even better for the away side midway through the half when Luke Yates was sent through on goal, and the attacking midfielder demonstrated tremendous composure to fire into the net and double their advantage with 29 on the clock.

A miserable afternoon for the Cofis’ got even worse on 38 minutes as new signing Montel Gibson showed what he can bring to the side with a superb effort from the edge of the area to all-but seal their success in the first period.

After the break saw both sides enjoy large spells of possession without adding to the overall score line, but the visitors did manage to extend their lead even further late on when Jamie Ashmore rounded off a fine team move to tuck away the final goal of the friendly and condemn Allan Bickerstaff and Sean Eardley’s side to their second heavy defeat in as many weeks.

They will be hoping for better fortune during their trip to Danny Jellicoe’s ambitious side, who secured promotion to the second-tier last term and have a squad littered with quality.

Another huge benefit to the set-up is the presence of Tom Mutton, a former professional with Swansea City who is part of the coaching staff.