After a pair of first-half set-backs, Barry Town United rallied to beat Llandudno 4-1 on Saturday, with Cypriot-Australian striker James Demetriou claiming a stunning hat-trick to turn the tide against the visiting Seasiders.

Former Sydney Olympic goalscorer Demetriou started the afternoon on the substitute’s bench, but soon capitalised on an opportunity to make his name at Jenner Park; and secure a first senior hat-trick to boot.

Targeting a third successive win in Phase Two of the JD Welsh Premier League, Barry’s clash with Llandudno began in truly disastrous fashion, as the Town found themselves a goal adrift with a mere 25 seconds played.

With their front pairing combining to dispossess Luke Cooper, Robbie Parry quickly found himself in a one-on-one with goalkeeper Mike Lewis and the man on loan from TNS kept his cool to lift the ball into the Barry net.

It was Llandudno's first goal at Jenner Park since 1994, when they earned a draw and replay with then-holders Barry in the Welsh Cup; a replay Llandudno would win to set up a meeting with Cardiff City in the next round.

Back to the present, the Town had not come from behind to win all season and the hosts found themselves rocked in the 37th minute when leading scorer and target man Kayne McLaggon went off with an ankle injury.

However, replacement Demetriou wasted little time in showing the Jenner Park masses what he was made of.

Assessing the play and leaving defender Danny Shaw in the dust, the Barry newcomer was in the perfect place to pick up the ball from Wes Baynes’ challenge, before cutting inside and picking his spot in the bottom corner.

With teammate Jordan Cotterill posing a recurrent threat up front and Callum Sainty almost connecting with Macauley Southam-Hales’ cross, the hosts looked in with a chance of extending their winning streak to three.

It was the visitors though who would have the first headline chance of the second-half; Parry firing in a direct free-kick that left Lewis rooted to the spot, only for his excellent effort to strike a post and rebound to safety.

In the 66th minute, Barry would press down the right-hand flank and while the visitors would initially clear, Cotterill did extremely well to control the ball and outfox three defenders, feeding the ball to Demetriou.

Running his foot over the ball on the cusp of the penalty area, the former Cyprus U21 call-up then teed up a right-footed attempt that flew into the Llandudno net, giving the Town a 2-1 lead going into the final third.

Then, only two minutes later, things got even better for Barry, as Demetriou laid claim to the match ball.

This time, the attack was built down the left, with full-back Chris Hugh floating a long-range, left-footed pass for winger Drew Fahiya to run onto, before Fahiya spotted an unmarked Louis Gerrard in the penalty area.

Having signed on loan from Connah’s Quay Nomads the previous day, defender Joe Heath sharply interjected, but the ball ran free to Demetriou, who showed his confidence to shoot from distance and dispatch his third.

Opposition goalkeeper Alex Lynch had represented Wycombe Wanderers in the 2015 League Two play-off final at Wembley, even saving a Southend United penalty under the arch, in front of a crowd almost 40,000-strong.

Nevertheless, while that afternoon was an undoubted career highlight, Saturday would be one to forget for the Holyhead-born shotstopper, who himself had only signed up at Llandudno on the recent deadline day.

In beating the accomplished Lynch for the third time, Demetriou became the first Barry player to notch a Welsh Premier League hat-trick since Jamie Moralee put three past Aberystwyth Town in February 2002.

To achieve such a feat from the bench meanwhile might well be unprecedented; a feather in the cap for the 22-year old forward, whose short career has already taken in stops at Nottingham Forest and Swansea City.

In the 74th-minute, manager Gavin Chesterfield would withdraw Ryan Newman; the sparky midfielder appearing to have picked up another injury, having only made his return to the starting XI in January.

It was another blow to the cause, with Newman being one of the standouts in the recent winning run.

However, there was also cause for celebration with the introduction of James Saddler; the club captain coming on to make his milestone 250th appearance in Barry Town colours, a remarkable achievement at 26 years old.

Barry’s confidence would continue to bubble and after Lynch had tipped one of Gerrard’s trademark free-kicks over his crossbar, an assured one-two between Hugh and Fahiya set up the former to score the Town’s fourth.

It was the icing on the cake in a week that had already seen the full-back profiled on S4C’s ‘Mwy o Sgorio’.

Having won all three of their Play-Off Conference fixtures to date, Barry can now guarantee their JD Welsh Premier League safety with three points at Prestatyn Town on Saturday (2.30pm kick-off), though supporters are urged to check for any weather-related postponements before making the long journey to Denbighshire.

As things stand, the bottom two of Carmarthen Town and Prestatyn Town can only make it as high as the 37-point mark, although both teams have still to play one another at Bastion Gardens on Saturday, March 24.

Barry’s next home game is not until the following weekend, against Prestatyn themselves on Easter Saturday.