Bala secure play-off spot with victory at Newtown

Bala slammed the door on their rivals for the end-of-season Europa League play-offs by securing seventh spot with a 1-0 win at Newtown.

The match was Bala’s seventh without defeat, and they now sit seven points clear of nearest rivals gap Connah’s Quay, with The Nomads having just two games left to play.

That means they now watch the remaining Championship matches with eagerness to see who they will play once the season enters its tantalising finale.

Newtown started the match in the ascendancy and hit the crossbar after 15 minutes through Matthew Hearsey.

But the visitors came back in to it and Stu Jones met Kenny Lunt’s cross to power a header in to the net for his sixth goal in seven games.

They then pushed on looking for another goal, but Newtown came closest to scoring next when Hearsey saw a header tipped on to the bar by Bala ‘keeper Ashley Morris.

Both sides continued to press after the break, with Bala’s Lee Hunt trying to chip the ball home from 25 yards. Newtown pressed late on looking for an equaliser but the hosts held out for the vital win.

Elsewhere, Connah’s Quay condemned Afan Lido to their 21^st league defeat of the season with a 3-0 scoreline, but with Bala’s victory it was all in vein as far as the play-offs are concerned.

Mike Hayes notched a brace to make it a very impressive nine goals in just seven games, with captain Danny Forde again adding his name to the score-sheet to plunge the Port Talbot-based side further in to relegation trouble.

In the Championship, title winners The New Saints made it 22 wins from 30 league games this term with a tight 1-0 victory at Carmarthen Town.

The two sides clashed on March 30 at Park Hall as TNS took the title for the sixth time in eight seasons via a 3-0 win, but it was much closer this time around.

Welsh Premier League Player of the Month for March Michael Wilde was once more the match winner to continue his impressive goalscoring run by nodding home from a corner late on.

An uneventful game was played out on a poor pitch with neither side creating many chances.

One close effort for the visitors had earlier seen Kai Edwards have a shot cleared off the line as they moved 19 points clear of Bangor City and Airbus UK at the top of the table with two games remaining.