Report by Dylan MacIsaac
Barry Town made it three wins in a row as they breezed past Briton Ferry Llansawel 5-0 at Jenner Park. A goal and assist for Kayne McLaggon in his final home outing along with braces for both Callum Sainty and Ollie Hulbert rounded up an excellent end to the season for the Town.
The home side wasted no time showing why they were able to lock up the 7th playoff spot as they commanded the game early on. Robbie Wilmott and McLaggon linked up on multiple occasions to create openings that piled the pressure on the visitors.
A whipped Owen Cuddihy ball was nearly turned goalwards by Mclaggon early on but flew agonisingly past the striker.
They didn’t have to wait long for a breakthrough as a pinpoint corner in the 12th minute from Wilmott found the towering centre back Callum Sainty who headed home with the prowess of a centre forward.
Wilmott continued to torment the defence as he fired a storm of excellent balls all over the pitch. Another one of his set pieces forced Will Fuller in the Ferry goal into a save after it glanced off one of his defenders’ heads.
Captain McLaggon came close again on 16 minutes with a deft flick that narrowly crept past the post. His fairytale moment came just four minutes later when his shot from the edge of the box nestled in the bottom corner and sent the crowd crazy. He was hoisted in the air by his teammates in celebration as the crowd stood to applaud the legend for a fitting end to a brilliant eight-year career in yellow and blue.
Owen Cuddihy was his usual tenacious self down the left flank, and he almost set up a third of the afternoon for Barry when his cross found Mclaggon yet again, but his header was clawed miraculously out of the top corner by Fuller.
Ferry’s first real chance came on 29 minutes when Ryan George put an inviting cross into the Barry box, but the ball was left untouched on its way to a Barry goal kick.
With the game already getting away from the visitors, Wilmott and Sainty were at hand again to produce a carbon copy of the first goal and make it 3-0. Sainty’s dominant performance extended to the other end of the pitch as he made plenty of strong tackles to thwart any chance of a comeback.
Armstrong was tested for the first time from a floated header that was en route to the top left corner, but he battled to win a free kick after being clattered into by Jasper Payne.
Michael George attempted a sneaky shot just before halftime, but it was well saved by the feet of Fuller at his near post.
There were to be no plot twists in the second 45 as Barry came out determined to build on their already comfortable lead. They nearly did just that in the 53rd minute when McLaggon’s day almost got even better with a mesmerizing overhead kick that was ruled out for offside, much to the dismay of the home fans.
George came close to extending the advantage after he was played in by Hulbert following a defensive blunder from the away side, but he couldn’t quite keep his effort on target. It was Hulbert who was able to convert a few minutes later as he put the game to bed with a classy sliding finish over the ‘keeper. An assist from the captain capped off his fine farewell before he handed the armband to fellow goal scorer Sainty, and he left his home pitch for one last time in the 74th minute to a standing ovation from the Barry faithful.
The Town’s top scorer doubled his haul for the day 11 minutes later with another clinical finish from just left of the penalty spot. The strike was his 15th of the season and marked the best goalscoring year of his career. He was assisted by substitute Ieuan Owen who capped off an excellent campaign for himself.
A Hulbert hattrick was very nearly on the cards as he burst down the left on 86 minutes, but his shot was well saved.
Barry will hope to ride the wave of their excellent run of form into their first playoff game against Caernarfon Town on the 26th of April at The Oval.ReplyReply AllForwardEdit as new