CAERNARFON Town made their return to competitive action with a narrow 2-1 home victory over Cardiff Met.

The Canaries were pushed right until the end by the Ancients, who were missing manager Dr Christian Edwards following his recent health concerns, in order to pick up another win after a three-week absence from JD Cymru Premier action.

Sean Eardley’s side now occupy fifth spot in the standings and look on course for another top six finish at the split as they now turn their attentions to avoiding a JD Welsh Cup giant-killing at Goytre United this Saturday.

A cagey opening to proceedings in front of the S4C Sgorio cameras brought little in the way of goal-mouth action, with Cai Jones spurning the best chance on 24 minutes when his attempt from a tight angle went off target following good work by Darren Thomas.

They did not have to wait much longer for the opener, which arrived on the half hour mark when Thomas once again sent Jones through on goal, and the former Porthmadog standout made no mistake with the finish.

Cofis’ stopper Alex Ramsay had to be at his best to deny Will Evans immediately following the restart, with Thomas forcing a tremendous save from Will Fuller after a slick move that involved Danny Brookwell and Leo Smith.

Thomas went close on two occasions for the hosts following the restart during a bright start to the second period, but the students picked up the tempo midway through the half and got back on level terms thanks to Jordan Lam’s close range finish from an initial attempt from Elliot Evans.

The introduction of Jamie Breese brought a fresh sense of urgency in the final third for the home side, who were handed a golden opportunity to regain the initiative on 75 minutes when Danny Brookwell was felled in the box.

Town skipper Nathan Craig saw his spot-kick superbly diverted by Fuller, but the Cofis’ talisman managed to steer in the rebound to secure all three points for his side.