Undy Athletic 2 Barry Town United 2

IN the only game to survive in the division following recent rains, Barry travelled to Undy's Causeway Ground on Saturday last and twice came from behind to earn a valuable draw.

The footballing week started well enough when former Barry striker Ade Akinfenwa got his name on to the back pages, the hulking striker nicknamed "Beast", now plying his trade at Wimbledon, scored his team's goal in the 2-1 home defeat to Liverpool in the FA Cup third round tie.

Well done to that man from all his old friends at Barry. As it transpired his replacements in attack several years on are doing themselves no harm either, as Barry fought back after twice falling behind. The point they brought back from a tough trip to Gwent maintained their unbeaten start to the season and brought a second successive promotion that little bit closer.

Just two changes were made to the Barry team which beat Tata Steel the previous week. Paul Morgan came in for injured Theo Richards, Dale Howarth started in front of Rob Blatchford who was left on the bench, while Geraint Frowen and Curtis Hutson, along with recalled Jamie Bradford were also added to Tom Billing to complete a strong looking set of substitutes.

United's defence had to be constantly on its guard as Athletic adopted tactics suited to the heavy pitch. The long ball over the top was constantly used (though Undy on their recent visit to Jenner park certainly know how to play the ball on the floor) and eagerly chased by its willing forwards.

Undy took the lead after 8 minutes when Beckett opened the scoring and after much effort, and against the run of play, Barry equalised after 35 minutes when TJ Nagi scored. However a flurry of goals followed and within two minutes the score had reached 2-2 as firstly Barnes regained the lead for the home side.

Barry responded instantly when James Dixon, the team's top scorer, notched his tenth goal of the campaign. The referee soon whistled to signal for the interval with the scores all level.

To say the second half was tense was an understatement as both teams probed for a winner. Barry fans felt they could have had two penalties both denied by the referee and Dale Howarth thought he'd grabbed the winner but his shot hit the bar instead.

At times Barry were forced into giving the ball away a little carelessly, but given the heavy nature of the pitch , this also happened to Undy too and despite the efforts of both sets of players neither side could find a winner. Barry exchanged Blatchford for James and Hutson for Dixon but that was to no avail as the game ended in a draw.

Not for the first time this season, United had to fight hard and a share of the points was a fair result in the end, as this point was one gained rather than two dropped. Straight after the game, skipper James Saddler was airport bound as he is captaining the Welsh Futsal team in Montenegro, a well deserved accolade for the young midfielder.

And to cap a good weekend for the club, the Under 19's team recorded a fine 3-2 win against Caerleon on Sunday, with the goals coming from Adam Owens, Joel Edwards and Kieron Heppenstal.

This Saturday (weather permitting), the team entertain AFC Llwydcoed who United beat in a fiery encounter in October 4-3 (where veteran Damon Searle played in goal) and another three points would be most welcome. Elsewhere, the decisions on the clubhouse and 3G pitch is currently lying with the appropriate council committees and hopefully the club will be able to report news on that before the end of the season.

Barry: Dan Bradley, Bobby Briers, Paul Morgan, Lewis Cosslett, Ryan Evans, James Saddler, Dale Howarth, Rhys James (Rob Blatchford), TJ Nagi, Troy Greening and James Dixon (Curtis Hutson). Subs Unused: Tom Billing, Geraint Frowen and Jamie Bradford.

The current standings are as follows:

Welsh League Division 2

P W D L F A GD Pts

Barry Town United 15 12 3 0 41 17 24 39

Caldicot Town 17 11 3 3 33 14 19 36

Aberbargoed Buds 14 9 1 4 37 16 21 28

West End 18 8 3 7 32 33 -1 27

Chepstow Town 16 7 5 4 31 26 5 26

Risca United 13 7 3 3 27 20 7 24

Undy Athletic 13 6 2 5 28 22 6 20

Llanwern 15 6 2 7 33 31 2 20

Croesyceiliog 15 5 4 6 28 31 -3 19

Cwmbran Celtic 9 5 3 1 17 9 8 18

AFC Llwydcoed 15 5 2 8 28 37 -9 17

Caerleon 14 4 3 7 23 28 -5 15

Penrhiwceiber Rangers15 3 5 7 23 39 -16 14

Ely Rangers 17 4 2 11 26 47 -21 14

Dinas Powys 15 2 2 11 19 37 -18 8

Tata Steel 15 2 1 12 14 33 -19 7