In the nine league games we have lost this season, six have been by a single goal. It’s becoming a familiar tale, and one that was repeated at home to Barry in our latest match, the south Walians completing a league double over us, two games in which we should, at the very minimum, have taken a share of the points from. However, our inability to convert some decent chances at one end, and defensive lapses at the other, once again proved costly.
The visitors made a strong start, and dominated the opening quarter of the game, with their central defensive trio of Callum Sainty, Ben Williams-Margetson and Josh Yorweth imposing themselves on the game, and knocking Flint out of their stride,
Barry created the first chance after 2 minutes, with Ollie Hulbert shooting from the edge of the box, but Jack Flint was well positioned and collected comfortably. Flint was called upon once more after 8 minutes, when Barry skipper Evan Press sent in a dangerous cross to the near post that he had to deal with.
The Silkmen had their first sight of goal on 10 minutes, when Peagram did well down the right to create an opening. He crossed towards Josh Jones, who fluffed his lines, but the ball ran out to Ben Hughes who was following up, and a good defensive block intercepted his goalbound effort.
When Ben Wynne was hauled back on 19 minutes, Florian Yonsian was soon onto the loose ball, and tried to lob Luc Rees in the Barry goal, only for the ball to bounce off the bar.
Shortly after, Barry took the lead from a corner. They had previously served notice of their danger from set pieces with the height in their side, but Yorwerth was somehow allowed a free header from Robbie Wilmott’s delivery, and nodded home to give his side the advantage.
Just before the half hour mark things got worse for the home side when Sam Snaith made it 2-0. Hulbert made a clever turn, slipped the ball towards Snaith, whose initial shot was blocked by Isaac Lee. However, the ball looped up and Snaith was able to react to head it over Flint to double Barry’s lead.
After falling two goals behind, the Silkmen started to come more into the game. Jake Phillips pulled a shot across goal, but the ball then run into the path of the incoming Peagram, who opted to shoot from a tight angle, and he rifled it over the bar. Then Yonsian and Jones linked up well to create another good chance. Yonsian initially used his strength to win the ball, before laying it off into the path of Jones who ran into the box. As he founfd his path blocked, he slipped it wide to Yonsian once more, who, in turn, squared it back to Jones who was now in space, but his shot was straight at Rees.
The two were involved once again, in the final minute of the first half, when Yonsian’s attempted curling shot took a slight deflection, taking it nicely onto the head of Jones. But Rees was once again on hand to deny the Flint forward, pulling off an acrobatic save.
With the game in added on time at the end of the first period, Barry went close once more, when Sainty saw his effort strike the bar, after the chance was created following a long throw that wasn’t properly dealt with by the Flint defence.
Flint came out with renewed purpose in the second half, and were constantly knocking on the door, but were generally unable to come up with the answer to get across the threshold, as Barry defended stoutly, and used their experience to run the clock down whenever the opportunity arose. Rees, in particular, had to be alert on several occasions to keep his goal intact, as the home side threatened. Isaac Lee got the better of Rees on 56 minutes, beating him to a high ball, the ball falling kindly to Harry Owen, but he snatched at the shot, sending it high over the bar from close range.
Elliott Reeves had been brought on as a half time substitute, and he was making a real nuisance of himself. He got the better of Rees when he charged down an attempted clearance by the keeper just outside his box, and Rees appeared to get away with a handball as Reeves challenged for possession.
Flint then grabbed a goal back in slightly bizarre circumstances on 62 minutes. Barry had been awarded a free kick, and Yorwerth threw the ball about 5 yards further forward than from where the offence was, to try and take it. Yonsian went to close the ball down, to protest at the gaining of the extra yards, at which point Yorwerth decided to smash the ball against the Flint player, presumably in an attempt to get him booked. However, the move backfired, when it ricocheted into the path of Reeves, and he showed great presence of mind to hit a sublime effort from about 35 yards out, which swept into the net past Rees who was off his line. The Barry players and coaching staff were incensed at what they perceived to be a great injustice, and their manager, Steve Jenkins, was sent off for taking his protests too far.
Flint continued to pile on the pressure to grab the elusive equaliser, but despite their best efforts it eluded them. Owen saw a header cleared off the line whilst Yonsian put another header just wide of the target, before being denied on the near post by Rees. And finally, Reeves hit a shot on the turn that Rees scampered across his goal to keep out, and it just wasn’t to be for the Silkmen, as a familiar hard luck story played out once again.
Report by Nigel Sheen. Photos by Steve Parker.
Line Ups :
Flint Town United – J. Flint, H. Peagram (L. Mariette 70), I. Lee, I. Lambert, H. Owen (c), S. Fofana, J. Phillips, B. Hughes (E. Reeves 46), F. Yonsian, B, Wynne, J. Jones. Unused Subs – L. Murphy, B. Beaumont, M. Burke, G. Maire, T. Mfuni
Barry Town United – L. Rees, E. Press (c), H. Bright, C. Sainty, B. Williams-Margetson, J. Yorwerth, R. Willmott, E. Richards (R. Kavanagh 70), S. Snaith (K. McLaggon 70), K. Patten, O. Hulbert. Unused Subs – L. Armstrong (GK), M. george, J. Beecher, A. Lewis, I. Owen
Flint MOM – Isaac Lee (did well bringing the ball out of defence and taking the game to the opponents whenever possible)
