Dragons ready for Lions (From Barry And District News)

Dragons ready for Lions

BARRY TOWN 2, HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE 1

HAD KENNY Brown been on the sidelines instead of in Latvia, he would have shouted himself hoarse at his players.

Showing a lack of discipline and unable to keep their shape, their play was patchy - at times extremely cavalier and risky, but sometimes brilliant in execution.

Players were often chasing out of position and took quite a few wrong options when in possession.

The Dr Martens side were, on the other hand, disciplined and had a good passing game, but no real cutting edge to bother Barry.

A friendly match is fine if there is a benefit but the fact is that there is no way Barry will be able to play this way against Millwall and Skonta Riga. If they do they will be punished. Assistant manager Andy York agreed that the players could have done better and often did not take the correct option. He said the players were also very tired from a heavy week's training.

New signing Nathan Cotterill was a plus for Barry and looked a really good signing with some tricky runs.

Kenny Brown undoubtedly has a very talented squad of players and with the addition of ex-West Ham star Ian Bishop, the team must consolidate.

Barry have very little time to get things right and tomorrow's game against Millwall will show the manager whether they have got it right. There is no time to experiment or to try different formations - Kenny Brown will have to plan carefully.

Ian Bishop will play against Millwall. He was nine years at Upton Park and also played for Manchester City. Everton, Carlisle and Bournemouth.

Recently playing in the USA he was included in the America Premier League's All Star Eleven. Now 37, Bishop will bring his wealth of experience to stabilise the Barry midfield. Although Kenny has strengthened the side and has good quality players, many who played against FC Shamkir a year ago have left the club.

Terry Evans, Mark Evans, Richard Johnson, Mike Flynn, Luke Staton, Neil Sharp, Mattie Davies, David Forde and Tim Clarke make up the nine who have gone.

Replacing them for Skonta Riga are Simon Rayner, Dean Lee, Lee Pratt, Lee Jarman, Nicky Burke, Ian Bishop, Dave Toomey, Tom Ramasut and Nathan Cotterill, again making a squad of 18.

Last season Barry beat FC Shamkir 2-0 at home and 1-0 away. In 2000 they beat Skonta Riga 6-1 over two legs.

If Barry play to their strengths and keep their shape there is no reason why they cannot progress to the next round. A plus for them is that main front runner Jamie Moralee came through the Havant game successfully as a second half substitute. His achilles tendon problem is not yet resolved but at least did not flare up afterwards.

The game was watched by a very poor attendance of 236, but was quite entertaining for the sparse crowd.

Nicky Burke went close after ten minutes. Dave Toomey created a great chance for Gary Lloyd who slipped on the greasy surface as he got into the box.

It was the visitors who took the lead in the 20th minute. A cross from the left deceived Simon Rayner and James Taylor scored with a tap-in.

Barry's best move of the half came when Nicky Burke picked out Toomey with only the keeper to beat. The referee's whistle stopped play because of a foul on Burke when an advantage would have probably seen the equaliser.

After Gary Lloyd crashed in a free kick which had the keeper just about hanging on to the ball, Barry got back on level terms. Nathan Cotterill showed some silky skills in midfield and provided the pass for Toomey to equalise after 37 minutes.

In the second half a great Barry attack culminated in Jon French crossing superbly to Burke, but his powerful header was well saved by the keeper.

A defensive error allowed Havant a chance but Smith hit past the post. Back came Barry and French and Moralee combined well to give Cotterill a chance. The midfielder hit the top of the bar with his shot and a header by Taylor did the same for the visitors.

The winner came when great work by Nicky Burke supplied Jon French with a chance, and the Barry captain made no mistake.

Today (Thursday) is the last chance to buy a ticket for the Millwall game, kick-off 7.45pm tomorrow (Friday). The ticket office will be open during the day today (Thursday), and between 6pm-9pm in the evening.

Tickets cannot be bought on the day and there will be no admission by paying at the gate. Tickets are also on sale for the home leg against Skonta Riga, to be played on July 24, £7 adults, £4 children, no OAP concessions.