By Ashley Cox

IT was disappointment all round for Barry Town as their UEFA Europa League dreams were dashed in the overwhelming fog of the Faroe Islands.

A second-half five-goal flurry from hosts NSI Runavik sent Barry packing in ruthless fashion, setting up a first qualifying round meeting between the Faroese and Scottish Premiership mainstays Aberdeen.

After landing in the Faroes on the Wednesday morning of last week, the Barry squad had enjoyed a light training session at the Svangaskarð in Toftir, acclimatising to their surroundings.

However, the Svangaskarð that welcomed them some 24 hours later brought a notably different environment, the 6,0000 seater stadium enveloped by a heavy fog that would have ruined the game for the paying spectator, were it not played behind-closed-doors.

Seemingly unfazed by the lack of visibility, Runavik took the game to Barry, displaying a difference in sharpness consistent with a team in the midst of their competitive season.

However, despite being under the cosh and against the wind, Gavin Chesterfield's men were able to weather a storm of efforts on goal, escaping to the interval unscathed and stirring thoughts of sneaking a precious winner.

In the 52nd minute, such ideas would vanish as Runavik's flagship forward Klæmint Olsen broke the deadlock, though supporters watching the streaming coverage were left none the wiser as to exactly how.

As the mystery in the mist resumed, Barry knew a second goal could crush their hopes of progression, yet it was Olsen who made that killer contribution a little past the hour mark.

Then, matters began to spiral, with Petur Knudsen making it three on 67 minutes, before Olsen completed his hat-trick, leaving Barry with the humbling reality of a four-goal deficit.

Their misery was compounded in the 83rd minute, when Steffan Løkin made it 5-0, though Kayne McLaggon would claim a consolation effort in the game's merciful closing moments.

McLaggon's strike would be Barry's first in European play since Jamie Moralee netted the winner over Vardar Skopje of Macedonia in July 2003, as well as the club's first on foreign soil since defender Lee Phillips did the same against FK Shamkir in Baku, Azerbaijan, two years earlier.

Nevertheless, on this occasion, Barry's big night in Europe would prove memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Making the most of an unorthodox pre-season, low-key friendlies against The New Saints, Connah's Quay Nomads and a Cardiff City XI had offered signs of hope, as Barry aimed to advance on the European stage for the first time in nearly two decades.

A strong starting XI in the Faroe Islands last Thursday only added to the sense of optimism, with a number of options on the bench to change things up, should it be needed.

However, the freak conditions that greeted Barry would quickly define the match, appearing to torpedo any effective game plan, as the players battled to find the ball, let alone one another.

Manager Chesterfield was resistant to call on excuses when his squad returned to Wales on Friday, yet the long-serving Barry boss must surely be disappointed that his team's latest tilt in Europe went down in such surreal circumstances.