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Aber Match Report

Match Report | Barry Town 1 – 0 Aberystwyth Town

Author: Archie Tooth

An 85^th minute winner from Ollie Hulbert secured Barry the three points in a 1-0 victory over Aberystwyth at Jenner Park

Striker Ollie Hulbert scored the winner in a dominant Town performance to send Aberystwyth home in what was their seven loss in a row.

Steve Jenkins made one change from his side which drew midweek to Haverfordwest, the suspended Josh Yorwerth was replaced by Robbie Willmott in a game which saw Barry earn their first clean sheet of the season.

The Town started the first half well, in the sixth minute Aberystwyth were caught in possession by Barry striker Hulbert, who quickly shifted the ball to his right foot, but his strike went high and wide of the goal.

In the 12^th minute Barry’s no.22 drove the ball down the right wing beating two men, stopping at the byline his whipped cross forced Aberystwyth keeper David Jones to tip the ball over his crossbar.

He again went close in the 13^th minute when his close ranged header was met by a fine reaction save from Jones to keep the tie level.

The visitors came close to scoring in the 19^th minute, midfielder Niall Flint drove through the midfield and teed up John Owens, unable to get the shot off Owen played a deft pass into the path of the charging Christoph Azaimale, who shifted the ball onto his right foot and guided the ball to the far corner, but Barry keeper Luc Rees met the strike with a strong punch out of harm’s way.

Jones and his backline remained busy throughout the opening 45, Barry’s Samuel Snaith was denied from close range and minutes later Elliot Richards’ curling effort was claimed by the busy Aberystwyth no.1.

Hulbert had a chance to put the home side up in the 36’ minute, but an important block from a sea of Aberystwyth bodies denied him.

Late on in the first Iwan Lewis forced Rees to make a diving save whose strike was heading for the bottom right corner. Aberystwyth’s no.19 too went close late on when his curling right footed effort narrowly went past the post, ending the first half goalless.

The visitors nearly took the lead in the 60^th minute, a stray Evan Press pass across the Barry penalty area fell to Aberystwyth’s no.9 on the right wing, his curled cross provoked Rees to send the ball over his own woodwork.

Barry proved to be a threat on set pieces, centre back Callum Sainty rose highest and guided his header just wide of the far post. In the 76^thminute teammate Ben Margetson nearly broke the deadlock, a Willmott corner found the unmarked defender, who directed his header narrowly over the crossbar.

Barry’s Michael George and substitute Josh Beecher found a lot of freedom down the flanks, which made it difficult for the visitors to create sufficient chances of their own.

A flurry of Barry chances was met by crucial Jones saves, Keenan Patten found himself on the end of a George cross, his well struck volley was sent down the throat of Jones’ goal and saved. In the 65^th minute Patten had another opportunity go close; his deflected strike was met by the Aberystwyth goalie.

Barry kept the chances coming where moments later a double save from the heroics of Jones kept Aberystwyth afloat. A low-driven effort from the Barry no.8 forced a diving stop, on the follow up Snaith couldn’t provide the final touch to send the ball home.

The visitors called Rees into action in the 70^th minute, Azaimale’s strike from a tight angle required a strong punch away from goal.

With five minutes remaining, Barry’s no.2 brilliantly kept the ball in play on the right wing, substitute Ieuan Owen hounded the Aberystwyth defender and found Hulbert open in the box with a square ball, using his right foot Town’s no.22 poked the ball into the net, putting his tally up to 5 for the season.

Barry remains seventh in the JD Cymru Premier on 13 points, with a trip to Bryntirion Park Stadium next week, the Town face Penybont on Friday 4 October, kick-off 7:45pm.

Full Time Barry Town 1 – 0 Aberystwyth
Barry Town: Rees, George, Margetson, Sainty, Press, Willmott, Richards (Owen 84’), Bright (Beecher 64’), Hulbert, Patten, Snaith (McLaggon 74’). Subs: Masrani, Beecher, McLaggon, Perrett, Lewis, Owen.
Aberystwyth: Jones, Walsh, Bradford, Ealing, Lewis, Flint, Owen, Hartley, Torry, Aziamale (Mason 81’), Patterson. Subs: Osment, R.Davies, Mason, Huxley, Dafis, Darlington.

MATCH REPORT: COUNTY GRAB A POINT

BARRY 1-1 HAVERFORDWEST COUNTY

Jenner Park, Barry / JD Cymru Premier / Friday 23 February 2024

A 1-1 draw with Haverfordwest County last Friday leaves Barry in ninth place in the Cymru Premier, five points away from the play-off place in seventh, and six points clear of the relegation zone.

Barry took the lead just after the hour mark, and looked to have won a valuable three points, but were pegged back by the visitors with a 96^th minute equaliser.

Haverfordwest’s Jack Wilson had the first real chance of the game, his 17^th minute shot going across the face of the Barry goal.

Moments later, Mike Lewis, making his first appearance since injury in September, pulled off a spectacular reaction save from a close range header, preventing an almost certain goal.

At the other end, Keenan Patten’s cross took a deflection which forced visiting ‘keeper, Zac Jones, to tip the ball over the bar.

Jones was again called into action when a Rhys Davies shot forced him into a low full-length dive to his right, and when Jordan Cotterill’s effort on the turn saw him push the shot away from the top corner.

Haverfordwest were awarded a penalty just before the break when Dan Hawkins was fouled in the box, but Kai Whitmore’s low penalty was well saved by Lewis, Whitmore putting the rebound over the bar.

Barry took the lead after 62 minutes. Michael George fired a low cross from the right which Haverfordwest’s Jazz Richards turned into his own net under pressure from Keenan Patten.

However, late in injury time, Whitmore shrugged off a number of Barry challenges, passing to the right. Rio Dyer’s cross picked out Rhys Abbruzzesse, who headed home at the far post to earn the visitors a point.

Barry travel to Aberystwyth Town on Saturday, 2^nd March for a crucial match to stay away from the relegation zone, before entertaining Colwyn Bay at Jenner Park on Saturday, 9th March (2:30pm).

MATCH REPORT: TOWN HELD TO DRAW BY PENYBONT

Barry were held to a 2-2 draw as the 10-man Penybont came from behind twice in Phase Two of the JD Cymru Premier.

Aiden Lewis gave the visitors the lead into the break and Sam Snaith added to his season tally in the second half, separated by second half equalisers from Kane Owen and Keyon Reffell.

Lewis opened the scoring on 18 minutes after one-way traffic with Ollie Hulburt selflessly pulling back to the advancing midfielder for his first goal of the season.

Owen levelled the game from the spot for Penybont after 64 minutes following Keyon Reffell being brought down by Luc Rees in an arial challenge.

Snaith regained the lead after 71 minutes for the Town with a devastating counter-attack resulting in a header from close range from a Rhys Davies cross.

Reffell was involved once again when Penybont equalised for a second time, this time the end product of a deep cross, sliding home from close range.

Penybont were led to fightback from a 1-0 deficit with 10-men for the majority of the game, Chris Venables was shown a straight red for an off-the-ball incident involving Will Richards in the 24^th minute.

Evan Press was the difference between a point and a late comeback as he produced a goalline block from a drilled effort with just 10 minutes to play and the momentum having swung in favour of the 10-men.

Barry were the quickest out the blocks, it took only 27 seconds for the Town to stamp their mark into the game. A Keenan Patten switch to Mike George returning the favour following Patten’s darting run into the box before heading over. Just a minute later, Hulburt found himself firing wide with an effort from inside the 18-yard box.

Hulburt went close again as Barry were boasting all the big chances inside the first 15 minutes. A long, high ball had Hulburt beating the ‘bont defenders heading his one-on-one effort off the woodwork.

The Town’s leading goal scorer had another chance to add to his season tally early in the second half after total domination in the opening period; Davies’ pull back blazed over the bar from close range.

Barry had limited defending to do in the opening half and their first test came from the hosts’ Shaun MacDonald glancing a header wide from a corner early in the second half.

Penybont grew into the game as they equalised for a second time after all momentum appeared sucked out of them following Snaith’s goal, only for the Press-denying chance the difference between a point and none for the visitors in the end.

Penybont: Przybek, Little, Owen ©, Jefferies, Davies (Reynolds 90+2), Harling, Venables, McFayden (Ware 20’), Kircough (Richards 72’), MacDonald, Reffell.

Subs not used: Harris, Krezolek, Griffiths, Borge.

Barry Town United: Rees, MacDonald, Richards, Press ©, George, Davies (Blythe 90’), Patten, Lucas, Lewis (Cotterill 75’), Hulburt, Snaith (McLaggon 75’).

Subs not used: Tucker, Veale, Perrett, Tomlinson.

Goals: Owen 64’, Reffell 76’. Lewis 18’, Snaith 71’.

Yellow Cards: Little 24’, Harling 51’, Owen 62’, Jefferies 82’. Hulburt 25’, Cotterill 80’, MacDonald 82’, Patten 86’.

Red Cards: Venables 24’.

MATCH REPORT: TOWN WELL BEATEN BY PONTY

BARRY 0-3 PONTYPRIDD

Jenner Park, Barry / JD Cymru Premier / Saturday 3 February 2024

Phase Two of the Cymru Premier season got off to the worst possible start for Barry, who were well beaten at home by Pontypridd.

Despite a strong line-up, Barry lacked the sharpness and competitive edge needed to take three points.

The result leaves Town in ninth place, five points behind a play-off place but also only seven points away from a relegation spot.

Barry came to close to scoring after six minutes when Lucas Tomlinson’s shot from the edge of the box cannoned off a defender and wide of the goal.

However, the visitors took a fifteenth minute lead through striker Ben Ahmun.

A long ball over the top saw Barry goalkeeper Luc Rees come to clear, only to lose the race to the Ponty striker, who lifted the ball over Rees before slotting into the empty net.

Five minutes later, Barry came close to equalising, with Sam Snaith knocking the ball down and Oli Hulbert firing across the face of the goal from the edge of the box.

After an hour, Ahmun nearly doubled his tally, outpacing the Barry defence but shooting across goal, rather than on target.

Nevertheless, Ponty made it 2-0 a few minutes later. Owain Jones saw his shot saved by Luc Rees, but scored from close range from the resulting corner, getting in front of the Barry defence to head home.

The visitors continued to push, with Keston Davies going close from a free-kick which went just wide, and Luc Rees saving his effort from close range.

Eventually the pressure told, and Pontypridd scored a third. Barry gave up possession cheaply in midfield and, although Luc Rees saved the initial shot from Ahmun, the ball stayed in play and fell to Owain Pritchard, who netted comfortably.

Barry travel to Penybont on Saturday 10 February for a 12:45pm kick-off, with the match being screened live online by Sgorio.

MATCH REPORT: DOMINANT TOWN CRUISE PAST NEWTOWN IN 2024 OPENER

Barry Town kicked off 2024 in style with a convincing 4-0 win over Newtown in the JD Cymru Premier at Jenner Park.

The dominant performance against the fourth placed Robins was led by an unlikely double and an assist from Ben Blythe. Sam Snaith and Ollie Hulburt also secured places on the scoresheet as the Town cruised to victory in Steve Jenkins’ absence.

Blythe opened his account for the Town on 18 minutes with a Rhys Davies cross trickling across the six-yard box for the Swansea loanee to smartly find the bottom corner.

The centre-back completed his brace from a Barry corner with a powerful header. A Jamie Veale corner had the centre-back rising highest to double the hosts’ lead.

Snaith was able to seal three points for the Town inside the hour mark, another Veale corner finding the Town striker to take his goal tally to two goals in two league starts. The 23-year-old’s first league start since August 19.

Ollie Hulburt rubbed salt in the wound when he added a 71^st minute winner. After threatening breaking the line of defence throughout the match, he eventually made it count, slotting home Blythe’s through ball for 4-0.

After a stretched opening few minutes, Ollie Hulburt beat the offside trap with Callum Sainty showing great vision from the back, the Town striker could only force a corner with a good save from Andrew Wycherley.

It was déjà vu for Hulburt ten minutes later. A ball over the top allowed the 21-year-old to demonstrate his burst in acceleration, denied by a brilliant Wycherley save.

Newtown’s chances were few and far between although a looping cross had Louis Robles testing Luc Rees able to make a comfortable save.

Aiden Lewis was given a golden opportunity to double the Town’s lead late in the first half when he intercepted a misplaced goal kick, spraying his effort from outside the box.

League top goalscorer, Aaron Williams had a chance to reduce the deficit in the second half when the ball fell from the sky on the penalty spot. Getting his technique all wrong, the Newtown striker couldn’t find the target.

Despite running riot so freely throughout, Barry couldn’t secure a fifth despite continuing to push in late minutes. A darting run from Mike George down the right-wing found Keenan Patten in an unlikely position in the box but he couldn’t beat the Robins’ ‘keeper.

Barry Town United: Rees, Press ©, Sainty, Blythe, Davies (Hugh 85’), Patten, Veale, Lewis (Tomlinson 52’), Hulburt (Huggins 85’), Snaith (McLaggon 78’).

Subs not used: Tucker, Greening, Sylvester.

Newtown: Wycherley, Sears, Mills-Evans (Hughes 78’), Sutton ©, R. Evans, Robles, Ismael (Boakye 65’), Williams, Cowans, Jones, D. Smith.

Subs not used: Ussher, Sharp, C. Smith, Downs, Taylor.

Goals: Blythe 19’, 43’, Snaith 59’, Hulburt 71’.

Yellow Cards: Patten 82’. Cowans 50’, D. Smith 58’.

MATCH REPORT: TOWN EDGE PAST GUILSFIELD

Barry 1-0 Guilsfield

Jenner Park, Barry / JD Welsh Cup Round 3 / Saturday 11 November 2023

Barry Town booked a place in the last sixteen of the Welsh Cup thanks to a 94^th minute match-winner against Guilsfield from substitute Sam Snaith.

Breaking down the right, Kayne McLaggon’s cross saw Snaith get ahead of his marker to volley the ball home from close range.

Saturday’s match was the first ever meeting between the two sides, with Barry hosting the mid-Wales club, who are currently sixth in Cymru North, a division below the home side.

It was a stronger Barry side than recent weeks, with defenders Chris Hugh and Curtis McDonald returning from injury to start the game.

Hugh had the game’s first real chance, his seventeenth minute shot from the left cannoning back off the post.

At the other end, Guilsfield’s Andy Evans was proving a handful, heading one chance over the bar and forcing Barry ‘keeper Luc Rees into action with another effort.

Although dominating first half possession, Barry failed to find the net. The best chances before the break fell to Ollie Hulbert and Jamie Veale, but both were saved by visiting keeper, Robbie Williams.

In the second half, Barry’s first chance again came to Chris Hugh. Jordan Cotterill laid the ball back for Hugh to shoot, but his effort went over the bar.

Barry then hit the woodwork for a second time. From a corner, a Callum Sainty shot took a deflection and hit the bar. The attack continued until an acrobatic effort from McLaggon was saved by the ‘keeper.

Guilsfield also had their chances, with Evans again shooting from distance and Izaack Lambert seeing his header saved by Rees.

The visitors have won on penalties three times this season and, with time ticking away, they seemed to accept a goal-less draw and were preparing for spot kicks.

Then came McLaggon’s cross, and Snaith’s match-winning goal.

Barry travel to Caernarfon Town on Sunday for an away match at the fifth placed club in the Cymru Premier.

MATCH REPORT: SPIRITED TOWN LOSE TO TNS

Barry 2-6 The New Saints

Jenner Park, Barry / JD Cymru Premier / Saturday 21 October 2023

Attendance: 340

The scoreline shows that Barry were well beaten by league leaders, The New Saints, but the match itself had a different feel.

After an hour, Barry had equalised to make it 1-1, but the professional side turned the screws and
scored five in a second half similar to Barry’s 6-0 win over Porthcawl last week.

In a frenetic start, the first chance came to Barry after less than thirty seconds, Keenan Patten firing
narrowly over the bar with a shot outside the box.

At the other end, goalkeeper Luc Rees pushed away an on target effort from Gary Brobbel.

Brobbel hit the post before Saints took a 20th minute lead. A Barry corner was cleared and Brad Young ran the length of the pitch before scoring past Rees. A frustrating goal to concede.

Rees was again on top form in saving from Young a few minutes later.

Just after an hour, Barry levelled. This time, TNS failed to clear a near post corner and it bounced across the box for Ollie Hulbert to head in.

Sadly, that scoreline lasted only five minutes as Brobbel’s free-kick was headed in unchallenged by Danny Davies at the near post.

Suddenly, the ball found itself within the Barry six yard box with uncomfortably frequency, the Saints scoring four goals in a 15 minute spell.

Brad Young scored the third and Josh Daniels the fourth, both goal poaching within the six yard box as Barry failed to clear their lines.

A cross from Adrian Cieslewicz was turned into his own net by Barry defender Troy Greening as he tried to clear, while Young scored his hat-trick with the sixth goal.

Barry gained some consolation, with Hulbert’s 93rd minute header crossing the line, from Harrison Bright’s cross.

Barry now face two crunch Cymru Premier matches, Colwyn Bay away next Saturday then Aberystwyth at home on Saturday, 4th November.

MATCH REPORT: TOWN DOMINATE PONTY

Barry 2-0 Pontypridd

Jenner Park, Barry / JD Cymru Premier / Tuesday 17 October 2023

Attendance: 371

A dominant Barry performance saw them take revenge over the club of former boss, Lee Kendall.

The home side were in charge of the game from the start, with hometown boy, captain Kayne McLaggon, making his 200th appearance in a Barry shirt since signing in 2017.

McLaggon almost opened the scoring in the sixth minute, his blistering effort from the edge of the box being pushed onto the bar by Ponty ‘keeper, George Ratcliffe.

It was a busy night for Ratcliffe, probably the best ‘keeper in the Cymru Premier, who played on loan at Barry in 2019.

Barry opened the scoring in the 13th minute. McLaggon and Hulbert created space on the left for a low cross. Keenan Patten dummied the shot and then Harrison Bright steamed in at the far post to shoot low past Ratcliffe.

Harrison Bright celebrates after scoring his debut goal

The second goal came on the half-hour. A corner from the Barry left was inexplicably handled by Jarrad Wright and immediately given as a penalty.

McLaggon’s penalty was saved by Ratcliffe as he dived to his left, but he could only parry, leaving Kayne to put the ball into an open net.

At the start of the second half, a low cross from Rhys Davies was almost met by Jamie Veale, but he couldn’t direct the shot towards goal, while Ratcliffe pulled off two saves from both Patten and
McLaggon.

It could have been 3-0 in the 81st minute, with Mike George and Hulbert setting up McLaggon, but his final touch took the ball wide.

With eight minutes of second half injury time played, Barry boss Steve Jenkins was pleased when his side not just won the match, but kept a clean sheet with it.

Although out of the Cymru Premier relegation zone, Barry’s bounceback faces a tough challenge in leader leaders The New Saints on Saturday (2:30pm kick off). The clubs drew 2-2 at Oswestry earlier in the season.

MATCH REPORT: TOWN CRUISE PAST PORTHCAWL

Barry 6-0 Porthcawl

Jenner Park, Barry / JD Welsh Cup / Saturday 14 October 2023

Attendance: 306

Barry cruised to a place in Round Three of the JD Welsh Cup with a flurry of second half goals, sealing a 6-0 win over Porthcawl Town Athletic at Jenner Park.

After the expected domination in the opening half, Michael George’s 26^th minute opener was long overdue but Town continued to be mostly frustrated by a resolute defence by the Seasiders.

An overlapping run combined with a pinpoint Ollie Hulbert pass allowed for the Town wing-back to fire his effort into the upright of the netting at Andrew Fisher’s near post.

Jordan Cotterill doubled the Town lead on 58 minutes when a silky through ball from substitute Troy Greening allowed Cotterill his first goal of the season with a composed one-on-one finish.

In similar fashion to Cotterill, Hulbert got in on the action when he penetrated a gaping hole in the backline, slotting past Fisher just past the hour mark.

It didn’t take long for Callum Huggins to leave his mark on the second half. A Harrison Bright cross from the left hand side was nodded in from close range by the 18-year-old for his second goal from the bench in as many matches.

Kayne McLaggon made it 5-0 in quick succession, with the captain following similar suite to earlier goals, Cotterill feeding a through ball for the captain to become the fifth name on the scoresheet.

McLaggon secured a brace late on with Cotterill recording a hat-trick of assists, squaring a simple ball to the Barry striker to rub further salt into the Porthcawl wound.

With a league fixture against Pontypridd United just three days after the Welsh Cup Second Round, the Town opted to force a guaranteed place in Round Three of the draw with an imbalance of quality against a midtable, fourth tier Porthcawl Town side.

An array of chances came for the hosts in the first half, Rhys Davies set the intentions within the first minute when he found his way into the Porthcawl box before firing over.

A rare chance came for the visitors after 42 minutes with Evan Press disputing a foul, Jonah Lewis and Jordan Marks were able to link up on the edge of the Barry box before the latter failed to trouble Luc Rees with the effort.

The Town were prolific in the second half with substitutes impressing and total professionalism of a Cymru Premier outfit being shown when everything they touched turned to gold for a five-goal second half.

Barry Town United: Rees, Press, Sainty (Bright 51’), Blythe, George, Davies (Huggins 67’), Patten, Tomlinson (Greening 57’), Cotterill, McLaggon (c), Hulbert (Sylvester 67’).

Subs not used: Tucker.

Porthcawl Town Athletic: Fisher, Greenwood, Best, Budd (Jones 70’), Emery (c), McCarthy, Rayner, Hoven (Joyce 45’), Lewis, Marks, Edwards (Thomas 45’).

Subs not used: Amos, Adams.

Goals: George 26’, Cotterill 58’, Hulbert 65’, Huggins 69’, McLaggon 73’, 87′.

MATCH REPORT: INJURY-HIT TOWN LOSE IN CYNCOED

Cardiff Metropolitan University 2-1 Barry Town

Cyncoed Campus, Cardiff / JD Cymru Premier / Friday 6 October 2023

Attendance: 402

A first ever senior Barry Town goal for Callum Higgins gave fans hope for a late comeback, but Barry were beaten 2-1 by Cardiff Met at Cyncoed last Friday night.

Barry now face three home games in a week as they look to improve their season – at home to Porthcawl Town in the Welsh Cup, then Pontypridd on Tuesday 17th (7:45pm) and champions, TNS on Saturday, 21st (2:30pm).

Steve Jenkins’s injury list increased with midfielder Jamie Veale ruled out of last Friday’s game, one of six players missing from the starting line-up.

Barry keeper Luc Rees did well to turn Elliott Evans’s free-kick onto the post early in the game. There were chances at both ends after 15 minutes. Aiden Lewis’s low shot from the edge of the box forced a save from Met keeper Alex Lang, but Met broke quickly, and Rees was quick off his line to stop Tom Vincent from shooting.

Barry’s best chance of the first half came after 33 minutes, when Harrison Bright’s ball down the right saw Ollie Hulbert outpace his marker, but his shot went into the side netting.

Met took the lead at the start of the second half. Vincent headed down for Elliott Evans to ghost between two Barry defenders and his left footed shot from the edge of the box gave Rees no chance.

The hosts made it 2-0 after 55 minutes. Met’s Lewis Rees managed to slide his pass behind the Barry defence and a first time effort from Harry Owen hit the back of the net.

Barry pressed at the other end, with chances falling to Jordan Cotterrill and Keenan Patten.

They eventually made a breakthrough in injury time when Ben Blythe’s cross from the left was netted by substitute Huggins from close range, but it was too late to change the outcome.