COLWYN Bay manager Craig Hogg got the chance to see some of his younger players in action during their 4-1 friendly reverse at Caernarfon Town.

The Seagulls had nine squad members unavailable for their trip to The Oval to take on the JD Welsh Premier League side, and the Bay boss stated progress is being made as preparations gather pace for their return to the Welsh pyramid after a 35-year absence.

Hogg, said: “Player availability is a problem all managers face in the part-time game in pre-season, especially during the early weeks.

“Lads are juggling around work and holidays to make sure they are available for the when the season starts properly, so unfortunately we have had to deal with absences a lot over the last week

"With nine players unavailable for this game and seven last Tuesday at Vauxhall, the big positive is that I have been able to have a really good look at some of the younger players and give other lads valuable minutes on the pitch.

"Again, we played quite well in patches and had a couple of big decisions go against us, but we know our quality on the ball needs to improve and that takes time with so many new players.

"We should have a near full group back by the end of next week and I'm looking forward to seeing the lads start to knit together in the three weeks we have left of the schedule."

Allan Bickerstaff’s side broke the deadlock midway through the first half courtesy of a neat finish from Sion Bradley, but the visitors responded well and levelled matters just before the break when new signing Mitchell Bryant displayed tremendous composure to round the keeper and slot into the net.

Former Bay midfielder Gareth Evans had a header ruled out for offside shortly before the equaliser, but the Cofis’ did restore their slender cushion on 47 minutes when striker Jamie Breese took advantage of a defensive mix-up to hit the target.

Bay skipper Tom McCready and Toby Jones both went close with efforts for the away side soon after, and striker Damian Ketley became the latest to have a header chalked off by the assistant referee.

The home side doubled their advantage on 81 minutes when Town skipper Nathan Craig converted from the penalty spot following a foul by Alex Downes, and Breese notched his second of the contest in stoppage time to round off the scoring.