Eddie May celebrated his first match in charge of Barry with a 3-2 win over Cwmbran Town at the Cwmbran Stadium. Former Barry player, Jimmy Blackie, was honoured for being the first player to play 100 League of Wales matches, but it wasn't to be his day, as he saw his Cwmbran side go two goals down to Barry in the first half. Francis Ford scored the first of Barry's goals, while a Paul Evans header put the Dragons further ahead. It seemed a far cry from recent defeats which the club had endured. However, before the first half was over, Cwmbran hit back, and suddenly Barry were on the defensive. Midway through the second half, Cwmbran scored an equalising goal, and it appeared that Barry might lose the game. However, substitute Lee Price was the knight in shining armour, his 85th minute strike from the edge of the box being enough to see Barry take all three points back to Jenner Park.
Barry struggled to beat Aberystwyth Town, with only a bobbling ball and an absent Aberystwyth defence giving Barry the victory. Tony Bird was still enjoying his honeymoon period at Jenner Park, and found the net again in the 13th minute of the match. The match failed to ignite, even following a 39th minute sending off, which left Barry down to ten men. Aberystwyth hit back after the break, finding a gap in the Barry defence on the left, and exposing it, with a 47th minute goal seeming to give them the upper hand. However, with Barry attacking on the right in the 68th minute, the Aber defence seemed to follow the ball, so much so that when the cross finally came in, Barry substitute Phil Williams found himself in space only six yards from the goalline, and the ball bounced off him and into the net. That goal gave Barry a 2-1 home victory.
A game which has gone down in the annals of League of Wales history - the first League of Wales game to be televised live, an LoW record crowd of 2,734, seven goals, one in the first minute and one in the last, as well as being the final match of Caernarfon manager, John Aspinall. The two sides had already done battle a week earlier at the Oval, where, despite an Eifion Williams goal for the home side, Barry had won 3-1, and went top of the League of Wales. Back at Jenner Park, though, Tony Draper scored after only 53 seconds, his shot coming off the head of Barry full-back Gareth Knott. It was soon business as usual, though, with Tony Bird scoring after 20 minutes, and firing home again five minutes later. A goal from Gary Barnett in the 40th minute, right in the corner of the net, put Barry 3-1 up at the break. Another goal from Barnett afterwards and a strike from Phil Johnson saw Barry 5-1 ahead in the final minutes of the match. That wasn't the end, though, as Eifion Williams hooked the ball over his head in a spectacular move, making it 5-2 to Barry, and giving Jenner Park fans something to remember him until his move here the following August.
Two points dropped might be the obvious thought from the result, but it was far from it, as the supposedly struggling mid-Wales side pushed Barry all the way at the Weirglodd. After a goalless first half, they took the lead in the first minute of the second half, when their Richard Jones found the net. However, Barry fought their way back into the game and an Eifion Williams goal brought the Dragons level. Barry then looked to be on their way to taking all three points, when Rhayader defender, Dylan McPhee, put the ball into his own net. However, Barry had to be satisfied with a point when McPhee made up for his mistake and scored with a far-post header.
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This page edited by the Yellow Dragon, 1999.
This article first published in the Barry Town matchday magazine, v Caersws, 30.01.99, League of Wales
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