FEBRUARY 6, 2018
TOWN KICK OFF PHASE TWO IN STYLE
Debutant Jonathan Hood kickstarted Barry Town’s Play-Off Conference campaign at the weekend, helping the club to a 3-1 win over Aberystwyth Town in an entertaining encounter at Jenner Park.
The 26-year old, who has JD Welsh Premier League experience with three different clubs, became a last-minute addition to Gavin Chesterfield’s squad in midweek and began to immediately repay his new manager’s faith with a 23rd-minute curled free-kick, that zipped across into the bottom corner.
Watched by a number of interested spectators, including FAW Head of Public Affairs, Ian Gwyn Hughes and Wales C international manager Mark Jones, Barry entered one of their best attacking displays of the season, taking the game to Aberystwyth and entertaining the Jenner Park crowd.
However, goalkeeper Mike Lewis would play a major part in preserving their advantage, with the influential Barry shotstopper making a series of excellent saves over the course of the 90 minutes.
Declan Walker and John Owen in particular will have left Jenner Park ruining Lewis’s return, with the former Aberystwyth man starting his first fixture of 2018, after injury took him out of Matchday 20.
In one of multiple chances, Chris Hugh would dispossess Damian Allen, allowing Troy Greening to carry the ball forward. Drawing in Aber’s Ryan Wollacott, Greening played a perfect ball past him for Jordan Cotterill to run onto, which the creative forward then delivered right into the danger zone.
While target man Kayne McLaggon would hit his shot over the crossbar under pressure from Matthew Jones, Barry would appear good value for a second and it almost came after Cotterill showed some fine footwork to bamboozle Walker, race away from Owens and outfox Wollacott.
Unfortunately, Cotterill’s final, right-footed shot went wide, but he would not be denied for long; giving Wollacott a torrid time, before firing into the net from over 20 yards and celebrating in style.
The home side almost made it three when Greening powered the ball forward to substitute James Demetriou, the Australian arrival taking the ball past Aber goalkeeper Chris Mullock, only to be denied at the last moment by Walker, who had showed great workrate to track back and tackle.
Two of the club’s newest signings then combined when Hood set up Demetriou, with the latter ultimately unfortunate not to match his new teammate with a goal on his first Barry start.
With Lewis keeping the visitors out the other end and repelling a long-range Walker free-kick, Barry seized the opportunity to go three ahead, after McLaggon broke free in the Aber penalty area.
Though the former Merthyr forward would put the ball in the net, referee Tom Williams decreed he had been fouled by Mullock and awarded a spot kick; which McLaggon duly dispatched, taking his haul for the JD Welsh Premier League campaign to 11, the third-highest across the conferences.
With the game now seemingly beyond his side, Walker would continue to test Lewis from distance, albeit to little avail. Nevertheless, the persistent right-back would have the final word, leaping and connecting with Allen’s corner to blast one of the most spectacular goals of the season into the net.
For Walker and the travelling supporters from the Ceredigion coast, it was a worthy consolation and a fitting finale to one of the finest games at Jenner Park this entire season; though Lewis was unfortunate to not come away with the clean sheet his performance merited.
As for Barry, this ninth JD Welsh Premier League win of the season sees the team reach the 30-point mark; eight ahead of Aberystwyth and two above Llandudno, who were beaten 4-3 at by Newtown.
Newtown currently sit one goal ahead of Barry in the race for a play-off spot, with the teams to meet at Latham Park on Saturday 16th February, after the Robins head to Carmarthen Town this weekend.