by Phil Blanche
BARRY Town have been given a European boost ahead of their potential title decider against Carmarthen Town tonight (7:30p.m.).
The Dragons - put up for sale by owner Paula O'Halloran at the weekend - know victory will clinch the club's fourth consecutive League of Wales crown.
A statement yesterday confirmed that the club, which has 18 full-time employees, and had a turnover of �650,000 last year, is for sale.
A draw tonight will be enough to secure the title again should second-placed Inter Cabletel fail to beat bottom club Holywell Town at Cardiff Athletic Stadium.
That would take Barry into the first preliminary round of the European Champions' League, with two-legged ties on July 14 and 21.
Over the last two years Barry have had little chance of progressing after being paired with Dynamo Kiev, the Ukrainian Champions who have reached the semi-finals of the competition this season.
But a change in the way that UEFA calculates ranking points should work in Barry's favour this time.
UEFA has proposed that points will be determined by a club's five-year record in Europe. This will replace the system which ranks clubs by the overall number of points that their associations have collected.
Barry have suffered because League of Wales clubs have failed to make an impact - that is why they were twice drawn against top seeds Kiev at the preliminary-round stage.
But Barry could now reap the rewards of reaching the first round of the UEFA Cup in 1996-97, victories over Latvian and Hungarian opposition setting up two memorable games against Aberdeen.
It is likely that Barry will be seeded at the first hurdle this time and receive a favourable draw against a team from a smaller nation such as Leichtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta or the Faroe Islands.
Barry player-manager Gary Barnett said, "We could certainly do with some luck after coming across Kiev twice. Playing in Europe is always a buzz for the whole club and it will be no different this year, whoever we play."
Having sold top goal-scorer Eifion Williams to Torquay United for �70,000 last week, Barnett has to find another striker for Europe. Chester City's John Jones is an early candidate to lead the line.
Gary Lloyd will also be absent from Europe after having an operation on torn cruciate ligaments last week. The Wales B cap is expected to be out for at least six months.
Barnett said, "This has been the hardest championship to win over the last four years.
"We've had a more inexperienced squad than previous years and I don't think people realise the pressure on the players every week.
"Everyone in the league wants to beat us, and that is both physically and mentally demanding, particularly for young players.
"But I'm delighted with the way the players have responded. It's given me and my coach, Richard Jones, tremendous satisfaction."
Midfielder Jones, goalkeeper David Wells, Gareth Shone and Paul Mitchell all hope to shake off injuries and join the expected title party at Jenner Park.
Elsewhere, Inter should take another step towards UEFA Cup qualification at home to Holywell, who are five points adrift of Rhyl after Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Carmarthen.
Fourth-placed Aberystwyth Town hope to maintain the pressure on Inter at Rhayader Town, while Connah's Quay Nomads entertain Conwy United.
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This page edited by the Yellow Dragon, 1999
This article first published in the Western Mail, 30.03.1999.
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