Easy pickings for a rampant Town (From Barry And District News)

Easy pickings for a rampant Town

MOTAQUOTE WELSH LEAGUE DIVISION ONE Barry Town 6 GWYNFI UNITED 1

BARRY Town held on to their third place position in the Welsh League with this comprehensive 6-1 mauling of bottom-placed Gwynfi United. However, the pressure is still very much on if Barry are to claw back those points dropped earlier on in the season.

Still, that seems like a long time ago and Barry Town have since pulled of a dramatic run of nine straight victories in all competitions, conceding only two goals in the process.

The Dragons took to the field knowing that potentially they wouldn't face too many ties as easy as this one. As it turned out, it was a full 37 minutes before midfielder Luke Sherbon got onto the score sheet after getting on the end of a Paul Fowler cross. Fowler turned from provider to scorer only three minutes later, as he expertly chipped the Gwynfi United goalkeeper on the 40 minute mark to give Barry a half-time 2-0 lead.

In the meantime however, a mass brawl featuring 21 players erupted on the edge of the Barry penalty box, but only Luke Sherbon ended up being booked as the match officials could not decide between them who to book for Gwynfi. On the stroke of half-time Fowler nearly got his second as some deft foot work in the Gwynfi area, resulting in a fierce right-footed shot being parried onto the crossbar before being cleared away. There was even enough time for Andy Hammett to produce a fine save from the Gwynfi goalkeeper, and Andy must be wondering what he has to do to get onto the scoresheet.

With the confidence of a 2-0 lead going into the second half, it was a totally dominant performance by The Dragons which saw a further four goals added to the tally. A hand ball 15 minutes into the second half by the Gwynfi number 6 resulted in Fowler getting his second goal, and Barry's third, by coolly putting away the resulting penalty kick. Minutes later, the ever reliable Adam Moore scored his eighth goal for Barry, yet again with a header, after some intricate midfield passing between Simon Heal and Grant Thomas, before the ball played out wide was placed perfectly into the box by Andy Hammett.

That third goal saw Sherbon being replaced by Barry Town Academy youngster, Rhys Attley. Though not his debut, this was the longest run-out Rhys had enjoyed so far and he certainly did his best to impress the manager and his assistant and the loyal Town faithful. However, a rare Gwynfi foray into the Barry half resulted in a mix-up between Marty Ellacott and big defender Neil O'Brien, and a ball clearly shouted for by Ellacott was nodded nonchalantly into the Barry net by O'Brien to make it 4-1.

That blip was soon forgotten as assistant manager John Wile, back from suspension, made it 5-1 after sending the keeper the wrong way. The assist came from Rhys Attley with what was a precise defence splitting pass and the easiest of goals for the returning Wile. Attley began playing with more and more confidence, and went excruciatingly close to a debut goal.

After being on-hand to slip a ball to Grant Thomas in the Gwynfi box, Attley chased the cleared ball back to the centre circle and managed to win it back. Turning two Gwynfi players, Attley headed back into midfield and again linked up with John Wile. Continuing his run, Attley received the ball back off Wile, took on a further two players before ending up being one-on-one with the keeper. Calmly placing the ball pass the keeper, it merely grazed the right hand post and went out for a goal-kick.

With time ebbing away, there was still more drama for the few hardy souls at Jenner Park to witness. Paul Fowler struck a shot from all of 35 yards out and appeared to be the only one in the ground not surprised to see the ball plop into the back of the net for 6-1.

This Saturday, it's Welsh Cup Third Round time as Second Division side Garden Village make a rare visit to Jenner Park.