Following a comprehensive first half showing in which they deservedly led 2-0 at the break, Flint somehow contrived to throw all three points away, as Barry mounted a second half comeback, inspired by their substitute Sam Snaith.
The Silkmen took a 20th minute lead when a weak pass out by Barry keeper Liam Armstrong put his central defender in trouble. Jake Phillips was quick to seize on the opportunity, winning the ball back. He was pulled back as he attempted to make ground, but Florian Yonsian was on hand to reach the loose ball and calmly square it into the path of Josh Jones who slotted home.
The goal boosted the away sides’ confidence and they set about taking the game to their hosts. Isaac Lee went close when his outstretched boot just failed to connect to a cross from a corner, when he may have been better advised to go for it with his head. Then Ben Wynne was found in space just 10 yards out, and had a golden opportunity to double the lead, but ballooned the chance over.
But the lead was increased shortly after, when Phillips picked out Yonsian’s run with a good long ball, and the forward lobbed it over Armstrong before rounding him and following the ball in to make sure it crossed the line as defender Ben Williams-Margetson chased back in vain.
A Phillips long throw caused chaos on 40 minutes as it bounced just in front of the goal line, but no-one was there to apply the finishing touch, and a Barry defender managed to clear the ball away from under the bar. From the resulting corner, Harry Owen’s header was punched clear by Armstrong. The ball was returned in, and found an unmarked Elliott Reeves, who had earlier come on to make his Cymru Premier debut, replacing the unlucky Isaac Lee, who had departed with an ankle injury. Reeves swivelled to connect with the ball inside the 6 yard box, but somehow failed to hit the target, as another chance went begging.
Just before the half time whistle, Izaack Lambert had to be alert at the far post to guide the ball behind goal from a dangerous header across the face, as a Barry player steamed in behind him.
The one thing you don’t want to do with a 2-0 half time lead, is to hand the momentum back to the other side shortly after the restart. But that’s exactly what happened, albeit in somewhat unfortunate circumstances. After only two minutes of the restart, Mikey Burke was adjudged to have handballed inside the box, as the ball was smashed against his arm from close range. Keenan Patten obliged from the spot to being his side back into the game.
The home side now had some self belief, and when Flint needed to stay strong for the next 10 minutes and regroup, instead they crumbled. The almost inevitable equaliser arrived on 57 minutes from a corner, when Snaith was left all on his own to simply plant his header into the net.
Things got even worse on 66 minutes, as Jack Flint played a short goal kick to Phillips on the edge of the box, and not for the first time this season, it all went horribly wrong as he was dispossessed, and Ollie Hulbert was fed with the ball and swiftly despatched it to make it 3-2.
The keeper was then called upon to make a smart save to deny Patten as the home side continued to press, before substitute Rhys Schwank fired a shot against Flint’s bar.
A rare foray into the Barry half in added on time saw debutant Sidi Sanogo-Fofana just fail to connect with a cross in what was Flint’s best and only half decent chance of a truly disappointing second period.
Report by Nigel Sheen
Line Ups :
Barry Town United – L. Armstrong, M. George, E. Press (c), C. Sainty, B. Williams-Margetson, J. Yorwerth, H. Bright (R. Schwank 46), I. Owen (S. Snaith 48), O. Hulbert, K. Pattten (E. Richards 79), R. Wilmott. Unused subs – L. Masrani (GK), D. Perrett, A. Lewis, A. Bourne
Flint Town United – J. Flint, B. Beaumont (S. Sanogo-Fofana 73), M. Burke, I. Lee (E. Reeves 38), H. Owen (c), I. Lambert, J. Phillips, B. Hughes (H. Peagram 86), F. Yonsian, B. Wynne, J. Jones. Unused Subs – L. Murphy (GK), L. Mariette, G. Maire, H. Cartwright
Flint MOM – Florian Yonsian (an excellent first half display where his pace and presence caused all sorts of problems for the opposition)
