Barry aim to end on high (From Barry And District News)

Barry aim to end on high

HAVERFORDWEST COUNTY 2 Barry Town 2

Barry Town aim to leave the Welsh Premier on a high this Saturday when Port Talbot Town are the visitors to Jenner Park in the final match of a turbulent season.

If Barry can repeat the performance which they showed last Friday at Haverfordwest County, fans may be able to leave the 2003-04 season with some happy memories and the hope that the club's performances will improve next season.

Last Friday's match saw the already-relegated Dragons travel to Uefa Cup-chasing Haverfordwest County in West Wales, but neutrals would have difficulty in deciding which team was which as Barry turned in a fighting display which was more than worthy of a point.

The Dragons started as the brighter of the two sides, with a Richard Kennedy free-kick testing the former Barry goalkeeper Lee Kendall, and Mattie Davies going close on more than one occasion.

However, the third-placed club also showed why they were dangerous when Barry keeper Lee Rudall was brought into action to save a set-piece from Lee John.

Barry's recent hard work looked to be in vain as two incidents within a minute went against them at their match at Haverfordwest.

The first was a slip by Philpott inside the area as he failed to clear and the ball bounced to the home side's Adie Harris. From the edge of the box he lashed his shot home, giving Rudall no chance of stopping it.

The game had barely restarted when there was a flashpoint around the halfway line and Philpott found himself involved. Having already been booked, the former Cwmbran and Inter Cardiff defender saw yellow for a second time and was sent off, leaving Barry to play for an hour with ten men.

It looked grim for the Dragons, but rather than folding, they improved their game and were level before the break. A through ball found Mattie Davies, who bore down on goal before being pushed to the floor by Rob Jones.

The visitors were awarded a penalty and the numbers were levelled by a red card to Jones. Richard Kennedy stepped up to firmly place the penalty past Kendall.

Blues substitute Chris Miller skipped past the offside trap and tried to take the ball around Rudall. The Barry 'keeper pulled Miller to the floor and when the referee pointed to the spot, it seemed inevitable that Barry would be down to nine.

The 'keeper escaped with a yellow, but Barry went 2-1 down as former player Darren Ryan stroked home the spot-kick.

Haverfordwest relaxed, happy with the scoreline and the confirmation of a Uefa Cup place if they took all three points, but there was a cruel twist in the final five minutes as two of Barry's substitutes combined to rescue a point.

Former Haverfordwest player, Gary Twynham, was the architect, running from his own half and sidestepping some casual challenges to enter the penalty area.

Drawing the defence and the 'keeper, he shaped up to smash the ball at Kendall, but slid the ball to the oncoming Morgan Harris, who hammered home to reward Barry's best performance of the season with a point.