Late winner leaves Barry Town reeling (From Barry And District News)

Late winner leaves Barry Town reeling

A GOAL ten minutes from time denied Barry Town a win at a dour Macron Welsh League Division One affair in Caerleon on Saturday.

It seemed as though Barry Town would be heading home from Cold Bath Road with a point for their efforts - before Troy Quarterly bundled home a deserved winner for the hosts.

Barry could have few complaints: their opponents looked the more likely winners from the outset and only some smart saves from Adrian Tucker kept them from taking the lead sooner.

Ironically when the goal did come, it was from a mistake by Tucker. He flapped at a cross from the left, leaving Quarterly to scramble home the winner from Glen Willis' header.

It was tough luck on the Barry keeper, who had made several fine stops throughout, most notably a double save after 54 minutes, where he was off his line smartly to deny Steve Arthur, before getting to his feet quickly to block the follow-up with his right boot.

But while one keeper was working up a sweat, the other was barely tested. In fact at times, the only reminder that Fitzroy Hutchinson was between the posts for Caerleon was his booming voice, which kept his defenders, and the crowd, on their toes.

Both sides struggled to keep hold of possession for any long periods of time, but it was the more youthful legs of Caerleon, and most notably their right wing back Glen Willis, that seemed to make the difference.

Their running, on and off the ball, was in stark contrast to a Barry side whose passing seemed laboured and whose fitness meant they were unable to muster a chance once behind.

Barry Town looked their most dangerous when striker Gareth Hemmens was on the field, though there were never enough yellow shirts running off him to make the most of his efforts.

It was through Hemmens' efforts after 20 minutes that Barry manufactured their best opportunity.

But Barry chances were few and far between, and they were increasingly indebted to Neil Williams and Andrew Jones, at the heart of their defence, for keeping them on an even keel.

And once Quarterly's effort hit the back of the net, even the most optimistic of the Barry faithful knew they wouldn't be adding to their 30 points.