CAERNARFON Town secured a top six berth at the JD Cymru Premier split despite suffering a 3-0 home loss to Aberywtsyth Town.

The Canaries’ will mix it with Welsh domestic football’s elite for the second straight campaign following their promotion to the top-flight thanks to Penybont’s shock victory at Cefn Druids, which represents a significant achievement for manager Sean Eardley and everyone associated with the club.

Town close out phase out at Cardiff Met on Saturday, before making the long trip to Ammanford in the JD Welsh Cup fourth round on January 24.

The home side carved out their first opening on 23 minutes when Gareth Evans linked up well with Darren Thomas before seeing his effort deflected into the hands of visiting custodian Connor Roberts.

Aber gradually began to see more of the ball and they went ahead on 34 minutes when Marc Williams looked to get the final touch on the line after the Cofis’ failed to deal with a cross.

A stunning double save from Alex Ramsay to deny Richie Ricketts and Geoff Kellaway kept his side in the contest just before the break, and the second period opened with a rasping 25-yard attempt from Thomas that sailed narrowly over.

The introduction of Noah Edwards and Sam Jones provided a spark in the final third for the home side, who opened Aber up again midway through the half only for recent signing from Bangor City David Thompson to avert the danger with a superb tackle.

This proved to be crucial as the away side doubled their tally on 70 minutes when a quick counter attack presented a chance to Williams, who drilled past Ramsay for his second of the evening.

Danny Brookwell, Evans, Thomas and Jamie Breese all fluffed their lines with chances late on, but Town were undone again when Williams pounced for his hat-trick to round off the scoring.