Latest News - Newyddion Ddiweddarar
16th May, 1998
Barry have angrily refuted persistent rumours that the club is planning to return to a part-time status. Manager, Gary Barnett, said on teletext last week that they had no intention of going part-time.
It isn't yet clear where these rumours have originated, but in talks with Supporters' Club chairman, Tim Johnson, Barnett assured supporters that there were no problems, and that the club were looking forward to the challenge of European Cup football and to defending the club's magnificent league record of recent years. Barnett has led the club to two League championships and won three other cups in his two years in the Jenner Park hotseat.
**The Welsh place in the European Cup Winners' Cup was decided last Sunday afternoon, as Bangor City took part in a second cup-final penalty shoot-out inside a week!
Craig Dulson turned from villain to hero within a week, as the player guilty of missing the vital penalty against Barry in the Gilbert Cup scored the winning penalty against Connah's Quay Nomads. The match ended one apiece, with Ken McKenna scoring Bangor's late equalising goal. This shall be Bangor's first appearance in Europe since 1996, having missed out in the last two seasons.
Final League of Wales table 1997-98
5th May, 1998
Yesterday, Barry wrapped up their season, winning the Gilbert League of Wales Cup for the second successive season. In a tightly-fought match at Farrar Road, Bangor, Barry beat Bangor City 5-4 on penalties, after the two sides were tied at one apiece following extra time.
Barry opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, when Richard Jones netted, but the home side equalised four minutes later. The two sides remained level until the fourth penalty kick, when Barry 'keeper, Pat Mountain, saved from Bangor's Craig Dulson. With Barry converting all five kicks, the Dragons ensured victory over Bangor for the fifth time this season, and two trophies to adorn the Jenner Rooms this Summer.
Ironically, it was against the same opponents last season that Barry made their first Gilbert League Cup victory. That, too, was a win on penalties after extra time had failed to separate the teams. That was Bangor's third unsuccessful appearance in the League Cup final.
Barry Town finished the League of Wales season unbeaten, with 33 victories and five draws in the 38 match league season. The club scored 134 goals, and conceeded 31, giving Barry a goal difference of +103. The side garnered 104 points. In both goal difference and points, the side did less well than in the treble winning 96-7 season. However, that year saw a 40-match league season, and so the current Barry side at least emulated, if not bettered the previous season's team.
The only disappointments in a long season were the failure to win any extra silverware in the other cup competitions. In the European Cup, Barry were knocked out in the qualifying round by Ukraine's Dinamo Kiev, who went on to win the Champions' League Group of Death, Group C. That included defeating Barcelona by more goals than they scored past Barry. In the Welsh Cup, Barry lost out 2-1 to Connah's Quay Nomads in the semi-final, while in the inaugural FAW Invitation Cup, Barry were knocked out in the quarter-final stage - home advantage not being enough, as goalkeeper, Mark Ovendale, was sent off and age-old rivals, Merthyr Tydfil, went on to score an extra-time winner.
On a happier note, the Barry Town Ladies won the Ladies Welsh Cup against Bangor City last week.
Barry Town now look forward to a well-earned rest, before the European Cup draw on Monday, July 6th, and the first round on July 22nd and 29th. For more information on the intentions of the Supporters' Club, see the Barry Town Supporters' Club page.
18th April, 1998
Barry failed in their attempt to do the 'double treble' after losing to Connah's Quay Nomads in the semi-final of the Welsh Cup.
In an even match, the Nomads took the lead after five minutes, through Stuart Raine. Barry equalised through Danny Carter after 20 minutes, but it was the Nomads who scored the all-important winning goal in the 50th minute, when former Sligo Rovers player, Steve Futcher netted for the Deeside club.
Barry player-manager, Gary Barnett, was replaced at half-time following an injury, while Nomads' Jon Kenworthy, who played 24 matches for Tranmere Rovers last season, was sent off in the 87th minute, after his second bookable offence.
Today was the first occasion on which the Nomads have ever beaten Barry. Barry players and supporters are now looking forward to the Gilbert League of Wales Cup final on Bank Holiday Monday, May 4th, as an opportunity to win a second piece of silverware in the 97-98 season.
In the other Welsh Cup semi-final, Bangor City knocked out Newtown. The Citizens, who entertain Barry in the Gilbert Cup final, won 2-1 after extra time. The final is likely to be played at either Wrexham's Racecourse or Rhyl's Belle Vue.
NOTE: Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to edit and update these pages for a period of some four weeks. What follows is a digest form of Barry Town news in that period.
On the football field, most went as planned. The League of Wales championship was won for the third time, as Barry thrashed Bangor City 5-0 at Jenner Park at the end of March. That was followed by a hard fought 1-1 draw away at Ebbw Vale, in a match which was played at Merthyr Tydfil's Penydarren Park. On April 4th, Barry set a new record score for the League of Wales, when they defeated Cemaes Bay (Ynys Mon) 12-0 at Jenner Park. Former Manchester City player, Ben Burrows, celebrated his debut with a goal.
As one arrives, so another leaves, and Mark Ovendale signed for English Second Division side, Bournemouth, for a figure of �30,000. This was rather than Cardiff, who had offered a similar figure. Cardiff boss, Frank Burrows, criticised his club's scouting techniques after hearing of Ovendale's move to the English South Coast. Mark missed only one League of Wales match in his three very successful years at Jenner Park, which included three League of Wales titles, one Welsh Cup winners medal and a Gilbert League Cup medal.
The week after, Barry made the trip to Porthmadog, where, despite blizzard conditions in mid-Wales, the Traeth pitch was playable. An early goal from Craig Evans set up a 3-0 win for Barry, with Eifion Williams and Richard Jones scoring the others. Bank Holiday Monday saw Inter Cabletel visiting Jenner Park. Two second half goals by Eifion Williams ensured that Barry continued their unbeaten streak in the League of Wales. Dean Philpott scored Inter's consolation goal in injury time. Barry now have two League of Wales matches remaining, both at home, and remain unbeaten in this season's League of Wales.
21st March, 1998
A single 77th minute goal from Darren Ryan was enough for Barry to take home the three points from Haverfordwest this afternoon, on their first trip to the 'new' Bridge Meadow ground, built in 1995. The all-important goal came after Richard Jones's shot had struck both bar and post. To win the league, Barry now need four wins from their last ten matches. The club have now gone more than a year unbeaten in the League of Wales.
The fixture dates for the European Championship Qualifying group One have been decided. Wales matches are as follows:
Sat.05.09.98 Italy (h)
Sat.10.10.98 Denmark (a)
Wed.14.10.98 Belarus (h)
Wed.31.03.99 Switzerland (a)
Sat.05.06.99 Italy (a)
Wed.09.06.99 Denmark (h)
Sat.04.09.99 Belarus (a)
Sat.09.10.99 Switzerland (h)
The venues for these matches have not yet been decided.
17th March, 1998
A Darren Ryan hat-trick saw Barry make amends for their defeat against Merthyr last week, with the Dragons reaching the last four of the Welsh Cup for the third consecutive year. The victims were Total Network Solutions (nee Llansantffraid), who cruelly denied Barry 'the double' in 1995-96, when the mid-Wales side defeated Barry on penalties in the Welsh Cup final. Barry gained revenge though, winning 3-1 on the weekend.
Ryan scored the first after 26 minutes, and the second after 57. TNS replied through a Michael Gallagher header on the 70th minute, but Ryan went on to finish his hat-trick, scoring again nine minutes from time.
In the draw, made live on 'Gol' on Sunday afternoon, Barry were drawn to face Connah's Quay Nomads in the Welsh Cup semi-final. The other tie will be between Bangor City and Newtown. These games will be played at a neutral venue on Saturday, 18th April. The final will be played on Sunday, May 10th.
10th March, 1998
Barry crashed out of the FAW Invitation Cup this evening, losing 1-0 to English 6th division side, Merthyr Tydfil. The goal came in the first period of injury time, scored by former Barry player, Chris Summers.
A greater point of contention may well be over the sending off of Barry goalkeeper, Mark Ovendale, in the fourth minute of injury time during normal play. Ovendale was shown the red card following handling the ball outside the penalty area.
Despite tonight's result, Barry remain top of the League of Wales by 21 points, are in the Gilbert Cup final, and play in the Welsh Cup quarter-final on Saturday afternoon when Total Network Solutions visit Jenner Park.
8th March, 1998
It appears that yesterday's match at Cwmbran only took place because of the insistence of Llanelli based referee, Ceri Richards. The local Torfaen council had originally postponed the match between the LoW's leading sides, but Richards, with the LoW on his side following a previous dispute, went ahead with the game, despite many travellers having been informed of its postponement.
The draw for the Inter-toto Cup will be made on Friday, 24th April. This European competition is entered by the third-placed side in the LoW. The format of the Summer tournament has changed, and this year there will be a two-legged tie, as in the other European tournaments. This is in contrast to previous seasons, in which five clubs have taken part in a group. Also new this year, the competing Welsh club will be subject to a financial review before the Football Association of Wales recommend them to EUFA, European football's governing body.
It is rumoured that following a dispute with the town rugby club, who use the same ground, Ebbw Vale F.C will now be using Merthyr Tydfil's Penydarren Park for midweek matches. With Barry still to play Ebbw Vale away from home, this may well be the venue for the match.
7th March, 1998
Barry reached 100 LoW goals today, after winning 3-0 at second placed Cwmbran Town. As a result of that scoreline, Barry move 21 points clear of the Crows, who were joined on 58 points by Inter Cabletel. Barry are now on 79 points.
Barry's goals came via a Gareth Knott free-kick in the 36th minute, and two second-half goals from Eifion Williams. Eifion's first came on the hour, in a move which characterises Barry's total-football approach. The ball moved from one end of the pitch to the other, starting with Barry keeper Mark Ovendale. Terry Evans' cross was rounded off by Ovendale.
In the final minutes of the match, Eifion netted Barry's third goal of the match. That was Eifion's 30th LoW goal of the season, and Barry's 100th!
David Puttnam, who formerly played for Swansea, has left Barry after making just one appearance - against Cwmbran Town in the Gilbert League Cup. The club and the player failed to agree on "personal terms".
The game at home to Merthyr Tydfil on Tuesday evening will be shown live on BBC Wales television. Kick off is at 6:30p.m.
4th March, 1998
Wales 'B' will be playing Scotland 'B' in an international friendly at Clyde on Tuesday, 24th March. The Wales side features Barry's Gary Lloyd in the squad, with Eifion Williams on standby for the team. Gary was on the subsitutes bench for the World Cup Qualifying match between Belgium and Wales last October, while Eifion has previously been capped for the Wales U-21 squad, when he was with Caernarfon Town.
Barry have recently made a new signing from English League side, Torquay United. Twenty-six year old Paul Mitchell has previously played for Bournemouth and West Ham before joining Torquay. He has moved to Barry on a free transfer.
28th February, 1998
A 2-0 victory at Aberystwyth Town means that Barry are now 18 points ahead at the top of the League of Wales. Rivals Cwmbran lost 2-1 at Caersws, and are being pushed for second spot by Newtown, who won 6-1 at Haverfordwest.
Barry's first goal came from Eifion Williams, who scored after a flick-on from Chris Pike. The second came early in the second half, when Eifion Williams' cross was headed home by Lee Barrow. Chris Pike was taken to hospital after falling awkwardly in the box, while Gary Lloyd missed an 85th minute penalty after Craig Evans had been felled.
The F.A.W Invitation Cup match against Merthyr is to be played at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, 10th March. The game is to be shown live on tv.
25th February, 1998
Barry reached the Gilbert League Cup final last night, after hammering Cwmbran Town 5-0 at Jenner Park. The Gwent side, who are second in the League of Wales, were ripped apart by Barry, who go through 9-1 on aggregate, the second biggest aggregate scoreline in the six year history of the competition. Barry themselves set that record with their 10-0 victory over Rhayader in the second round, earlier this season.
Barry's goals came through Eifion Williams (2), Gary Lloyd, Gareth Knott and Chris Pike. Making his debut for Barry was David Puttnam, a midfielder who has formerly played for the English League side, Swansea City.
The final, to be played at a mid-Walian ground on Sat. 2nd May, 1998, will see Barry play the winner of the Bangor City - Caernarfon Town semi-final.
21st February, 1998
More than half of the Barry side found the net in this afternoon's comfortable 6-1 victory over Caersws. This was th first occasion on which Barry have done the 'double' over the mid-Walian side, having previously beaten them 2-0 at Caersws a little over a month ago.
The visitors opened the scoring, with Sean Jehu netting in the ninth minute. However, Barry struck back, with Gary Lloyd scoring in the 29th minute, and LoW top scorer, Eifion Williams, finding the net five minutes later, giving Barry a 2-1 interval lead.
Richard Jones scored Barry's third goal in the 52nd minute, with Darren Ryan adding a fourth in the 55th. The scoring was completed late in the match, Lee Barrow and substitute Chris Pike scoring in the 81st and 82nd minutes respectively.
This victory keeps Barry comfortably on top of the League of Wales, despite a similar 6-0 victory for second placed Cwmbran. Third and fifth placed Newtown and Inter Cabletel fought out a 0-0 draw at the mid-Wales side's Latham Park.
The current issue of the 'Non-League' magazine, Team Talk, features an entertaining review of last month's League of Wales match between Barry and Cwmbran, in which the magazine notes the potential for LoW clubs to do well in European competitions. A copy of this article will hopefully appear on the web site in the near future.
There have been some alterations in the Barry fixture list. The F.A.W Invitation Cup quarter-final against the English non-league side, Merthyr Tydfil, will now take place on 10th March at Jenner Park. The match originally scheduled for that date, Barry's home match versus Rhayader Town in the LoW, will now take place on 24th March.
15th February, 1998
Two cup matches within a week have seen Barry strenghten their grip on the silverware in Wales. The first was last Wednesday (11.02, when Barry won the first leg of the Gilbert League Cup semi-final. The game against LoW second placed, Cwmbran Town, resulted in a Barry bringing a 4-1 lead back to Jenner Park. Barry dominated from start to finish, even scoring the Crows' consolation goal.
That was after five minutes when Richard Jones' firmly struck back-pass was sliced into his own net by Barry 'keeper, Pat Mountain. A minute later, and equality was restored, as Chris Pike scored for Barry.
From then on, there was no likelihood of a repeat of Barry's League Cup defeat at Inter Cabletel. Eifion Williams netted twice before half-time, also missing two golden opportunities to score. He finished his hat-trick soon after the break and was replaced by Darren Ryan up front. 'Dazza' should even have scored a hat-trick himself, hitting the bar twice and seeing Pat O'Hagan in the Cwmbran goal pull of a brilliant save.
However, he didn't. The match ended 4-1, with the return leg to be played on the 24th February.
Meanwhile, yesterday (Saturday), Barry cruised to a 8-0 away victory over second division Knighton Town. Although leading the Cymru Alliance, the mid-Walian side were "flattered by the 8-0 scoreline" (Wales on Sunday), and Barry should actually have scored double figures without breaking sweat. Barry fans made up more than a third of the crowd, with a vocal support continuing throughout the match.
Barry were only one ahead at half-time, Eifion Williams heading in Terry Evans' cross. However, the second half saw a deluge on the Knighton goal, with Barry playing some great, incisive football. Eifion Williams took his tally to the day to four, including a delicate over-the-shoulder manoeuvre and a perfectly flighted header. Chris Pike scrambled a goal over the line, concussing himself by banging his head against a post. Craig Evans scored twice, while Gary Lloyd scored the other after a a wonderful 1-2 move. Eifion hit the woodwork, while Darren Ryan was booked for dissent. However, he may have had a point, as Barry were denied three stonewall penalties in the course of the game (no, I'm not being churlish - merely stating a point), mainly through late tackles.
The draw for the Welsh Cup Fifth round is made today, and will be notified as soon as possible.
Gary Lloyd returned to action on Saturday, having spent a fortnight at English side, Reading. Despite playing well in his first match, Gary described his second performance as "a bad day at the office", and will remain at Barry for the time being.
Craig Hughes has left the Barry Town playing staff, after failing to fulfill his contract.
UPDATE!
Barry will be at home to Total Network Solutions in the quarter-final of the Welsh Cup. This shall be the clubs' third meeting in the Welsh Cup in the past three seasons, when T.N.S were under their original name of Llansantffraid. In the first of these encounters, Llansantffraid won the 1996 Welsh Cup on penalties, but in the Third Round of the 1996/97 Cup, Barry got sweet revenge with a 2-0 win on the Treflan, Llansantffraid's home. The game, to be played on March 14th, will be at Jenner Park.
The other Welsh Cup quarter-final ties are Bangor City v Caernarfon Town, Caersws v Newtown and Connah's Quay Nomads v Cwmbran Town (that last game will be played at Rhyl FC's Belle Vue).
7th February, 1998
In a home match with Ebbw Vale, Barry were again held to a draw - the second in a fortnight. Barry - Ebbw matches are always exciting affairs, not least with the current Ebbw side boasting former Barry manager, Paul Giles, and former Barry club captain, Ian French. Ebbw Vale scored first, with Alun Evans netting in the 21st minute. Evans became the LoW's most expensive player when he moved from Flint to Bangor, but it was the current holder of that role who ensured that Barry took a point in the match. Eifion Williams, who Barry bought from Caernarfon at the opening of the season, latched on to Gary Barnett's 42nd minute shot to level the scores at 1-1. The second half was goalless, and Ebbw Vale returned home with a point from Jenner Park, a result only previously achieved by Newtown.The match featured seven bookings, two Barry and five Ebbw Vale.
On Wednesday night, Barry travel to Cwmbran for the first leg of the Gilbert League of Wales Cup semi-final. Cwmbran, who are second in the LoW, are fifteen points behind Barry, with the Dragons also holding the psychological advantages of beating the Crows, not only in their recent LoW match, but in three cup competitions in the past two seasons, including last season's Welsh Cup final.
The return of the semi-final will be held at Jenner Park on the 24th February. Meanwhile, Barry will travel to Knighton on Saturday for the Fourth round of the Welsh Cup. Knighton hammered LoW side Conwy United 4-1 in the third round, and it is sure to be a close match.
31st January, 1998
Barry were held to their third draw of the LoW season in today's match at the rapidly improving Rhayader Town. Now under the management of former Wales international and ex-Barry player, Chris Marustik, the mid-Walians have enjoyed great success in recent weeks, drawing at Ebbw Vale and defeating Inter Cable-tel at home. Memories of their 8-0 drubbing at the hands of Barry in the Gilbert League Cup were extinguished in this afternoon's draw. However, despite dropping those points, Barry are still seventeen points ahead at the top of the LoW.
After a goalless first half, Rhayader opened the scoring through their own Richard Jones in the 46th minute. However, Barry struck back, with Eifion Williams equalising. Barry then took the lead, when Chris Pike's shot was deflected in by Dylan McPhee. However, the Rhayader player made up for the mistake by netting the mid-Walians second and equalising goal, giving them a well-earned point in their relegation battle. With more than 300 supporters at the Weirglodd, the game was a great advert for League of Wales football.
28th January, 1998
Barry will meet inaugural LoW champions, Cwmbran Town, in the two-legged semi-final of the Gilbert League of Wales Cup. Cwmbran, who are currently second in the LoW, hammered local rivals Ebbw Vale 4-0 this evening, to win 5-2 on aggregate. In North Wales, Caernarfon Town booked their place in the last four, despite losing at home to Cemaes Ynys Mon 2-0. The final place will go to the winner of the Bangor City-Conwy United quarter final. Bangor are currently 2-0 up from last night's first leg, and there is a good chance of a repeat of last season's cup final at Aberystwyth, where Barry beat Bangor City after penalties.
In the Central Wales Floodlit Cup, Aberystwyth overcame local rivals, Penrhyncoch, 1-0 in a replay.
27th January, 1998
Barry sealed their passage to the semi-final of the Gilbert League Cup this evening by defeating Inter Cabletel 2-0 at the Cardiff Athletic Stadium. This will be Barry's third time of reaching the semi-final of the midweek competition. At the home leg a fortnight ago, Barry had been defeated 2-1, and Inter are actually the only side to defeat Barry at Jenner Park in the competition. Nevertheless, second half goals from Craig Hughes and Chris Pike took Barry through 3-2 on aggregate. Hughes was subsequently sent off in the aftermath of the goal for retaliation on a foul by Sean Wharton. He, too, was shown the red card. Following Pike's goal ten minutes from time, Inter suffered a second dismissal, as well as being knocked out of the cup.
The competition is divided on a North Wales - South Wales basis, so Barry will play the winners of the Ebbw Vale - Cwmbran Town tie tomorrow night. Currently, Ebbw Vale lead 2-1.
Barry's match at Ebbw Vale on a week Saturday, 7th February has been rearranged, and the match on that day will now take place at HOME at Jenner Park.
Barry were also featured in today's 'Daily Telegraph' newspaper. This article will shortly appear on line as part of a 'What the Papers Say' feature
24th January, 1998
Today, Barry went seventeen points clear at the top of the League of Wales. In an exciting match at Jenner Park, Barry took all of the glory with a 2-1 victory over their second placed opposition, Cwmbran Town. A 44th minute goal from Phil Johnson put Barry in the lead at the break, but Cwmbran struck back early in the second half when Mattie Davies equalised in the 47th minute. An astute substitution from Barry player/coach Gary Barnett saw him leave the field to be replaced by Chris Pike. Only minutes after the substitution, Pike set up Craig Evans for the former RAF man to score Barry's winning goal in the 80th minute. Evans was also the Barry man of the match.
With third placed Inter Cabletel also losing, Barry have increased their lead at the top of the League of Wales from fourteen to seventeen points.
23rd January, 1998
Connah's Quay Nomads will play Total Network Solutions (Llansantffraid) in a League of Wales match this evening (kick off 7:30p.m.) This shall be one of the last ever matches at their Halfway Ground home, which will soon have houses built upon it. Following their final match there a week Saturday (31/01), they will finish the season at Rhyl FC's Belle Vue ground, before moving to their new home at Kelsterton College.
Also, recently announced is that League of Wales referee, Kevin Parry, is to join the FIFA list. This is good news for the young referee from Llanfair P.G on Anglesey. He will also be refereeing Ebbw Vale v Barry on 7th February.
22nd January, 1998
As you can see, Barry Town finally have a home page on the World Wide Web.
This doesn't mean that it's going to be any good, but is intended to serve
as a way of promoting Barry Town A.F.C, and, just as importantly, the
National League of Wales in which Barry Town play.
At the time of writing, Barry Town are on top of the League of Wales, a
competition which the club have won in the past two seasons of 1995-96
and 1996-97. Currently, Barry have 65 points from 23 matches (3 points
for a win and 1 point for a draw). Unbeaten in the LoW this
year, Barry will be entertaining second placed Cwmbran in the National
LoW on Saturday, 24th January.
The club are also still involved in the other three domestic competitions.
Having won the Welsh Cup last season, Barry will be away at second division
Knighton Town in the fourth round of this year's Cup. In the Gilbert League
Cup, Barry recently lost 2-1 at home to local rivals, Inter Cabletel.
However, as the qualifying matches in the competition are played over two
legs, Barry have an opportunity to redeem themselves this coming week when
they make the journey to Leckwith to play the Cardiff side in the second leg.
A new competition for the season 1997-98 is the 'F.A.W Invitation Cup'
, which is nominally sponsored by football's ruling body in Wales, the Football
Association of Wales (F.A.W). There is a large sponsorship deal with the
local broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (Wales), which makes
the competition very financially lucrative. After a 2-1 away victory at
Bangor City last Tuesday evening (20/1/98), Barry won
their qualifying group, and will have a home tie against old rivals Merthyr
Tydfil in the quarter-final.
Barry Town homepage
This page written by the Yellow Dragon, 1998