Nightmare goes on as Town slip again (From Barry And District News)

Nightmare goes on as Town slip again

Barry Town's match at Afan Lido on Saturday is now a must-win for the Dragons, after their Jenner Park jinx continued on Saturday.

All season long, good away performances have been followed by disappointing showings back in Barry, and last weekend's 3-0 defeat at home to Rhyl was another game in that sequence.

Few expected Barry to take anything from the second placed North Walians, but another early goal left the Dragons on the backfoot from the start.

Failure to clear a fifth minute free-kick led to early misery for Barry, as Rhyl centre-half Tim Edwards won the header, knocking on for James Brewerton to force the ball through a forest of legs to give the visitors the lead.

When a Rhyl free-kick went straight into the Barry wall after 46 minutes it seemed as if the Dragons had kept the score down to a single goal deficit at half-time, but another crucial loss in concentration saw Rhyl get a second.

The Lilywhites broke down the Barry right, and when the cross came in, there was no one marking league top-scorer Andy Moran, who scored from the edge of the six-yard box to send Barry in two down at half-time.

That second goal marked the end of Barry's hopes in the match, and that was clear from the way they approached the second half. The Dragons second half performance was lifeless rather than invigorating.

Rhyl's star of the second half was former Bangor forward Lee Hunt, who two minutes after the restart forced Barry 'keeper Doherty, into a pointblank save, then fired wide a few minutes later. He got his deserved goal in the 57th minute when, following a cross from the Barry left, he got his head to the ball before Doherty could claim it to head home.

Barry nearly gained a consolation goal following good work by substitutes Lawrence Davies and Alun Hughes, which saw Hughes dribble past the Rhyl defence but fire wide from the edge of the box.

In the final minutes, Brewerton went close with a hopeful shot, but it didn't matter as his team had already sewn up the three points.

Barry Town: Doherty, Sherbon, Shakespeare, Elliott, Picknell, Rees, Twynham (M Harris), Sherman, Plant, Allen (A Hughes), Matthews (L Davies).