TNS stuttered to a home defeat at the hands of Bangor City on Tuesday.

Salvatore Pascarella’s late headed effort won the day for the JD Cymru North side at Park Hall.

Saints manager Scott Ruscoe named a much changed side from the one which started against Stoke City Under 23s several days earlier.

Ben Clark rattled the bar in the home side’s best chance with 15 minutes remaining before the Citizens snatched victory at the death.

Meanwhile Scott Ruscoe cannot wait to see his side back in competitive action as the JD Cymru Premier resumes on Saturday.

A home match against Bala Town at Park Hall Stadium will mark the first league match for Saints since December when the league was put on hold due to Covid-19 restrictions.

After almost three months of waiting, Ruscoe’s side will be looking to keep their lead at the top of the table, with three points separating them and current holders Connah’s Quay Nomads, who sit second in the table.

Ruscoe’s players have kept busy while the season was paused, with friendlies and training to fill the void.

But Ruscoe insists there is nothing like playing in competitive fixtures.

He said: “It’s been a long wait but it’s something we’ve spent a lot of time building up to now.

“We’re all excited for the restart of the season now.

“Everyone is looking forward to it.

“It’s refreshing to know we’ll be back to playing competitive matches.

“It gives us some focus and allows us to work towards a plan in terms of finishing off this season now.

“We’re looking towards the end of May as what will be the end of the season.

“It’s nice to get started and have a finishing date as well.”

Friendly fixtures in the past couple of months has helped Ruscoe’s men stay on top of their fitness, and has given the manager an idea of who will be involved during the return to action this weekend.

Ruscoe said: “I have an idea of what starting lineup we will go with, near enough.

“We played against Stoke under-23s at the weekend and that helped our preparation.

“We’ll have played Bangor City as well before Saturday, so all of our lads will have had decent minutes heading into the first game.

“We’ve been in more than anyone else so we’ve got no excuses on that front.

“We’ve played friendlies against the best opposition we can which gives us an advantage.

“We’re in a position where we just can’t wait to get started.

“We’re in the running, but we’ve still got a long way to go as well.

“Fitness wise, and with regards to our match preparation, we’re in a good place.”

It will not be an easy return for TNS, who face Bala Town – a side which has lost just once in the league so far this season and one of the Saints’ fiercest rivals.

“We’re at home and our home record so far this season has been excellent,” said the confident TNS boss.

“We have to play everyone home and away at some point, so we’ll look to get back into a positive vein of form and get some momentum going.

“Rotation will be important with the number of games we’ll be playing, and we’ve got a good squad for that.

“Everyone’s back to fitness now and it looks like Ryan Brobbel won’t be too far away, so we’ll have a full squad to choose from.”

Ruscoe added: “My headache is to make sure I’m picking the right team for the right games for the rest of the season.”