Swans 1 Barry Town 1

Formation Jones De-Vulgt - Bound - Smith - Howard Price - Lacey - Cusack - Jenkins Boyd - Watkin The game started scrappily with a tight midfield battle between the teams devoiding all skill on the pitch. But after 7 mins the Swans made the break through when a back pass was intercepted by Watkin, he rounded the keeper near the by-line but still had to shoot 20 yds at a very acute angle, but managed to steer the ball in before the defence could recover. The Swans then started to take hold of the game but with little options down the wing there was no option but to try and pass it through the middle but with Barry playing 5 at the back the chances were few and far between. However again Watkin intercepted another back pass in the left wing position rounded the keeper but this time his shot was cleared off the line. Price was booked for something after 20 mins and it was very difficult to see how, but this decision had a big bearing on the match. The Swans continued to try play through the middle however not a lot was happening as you can imagine Boyd going for a high ball isn't really an option. But Boyd managed to break through when a weak attack from Barry broke down. He picked the ball up from the right back position and rounded 3 players before his shot was deflected for a corner. Price was finally starting to make an impact late in the 1st half and finally managed to cross a wicked ball which Watkin managed to pull down on the penalty spot, only for his shot to be directed straight at the keeper. Price was involved again in the best move of the match. After beating his man, he sent another great ball in after some help from De-Vulgt, his cross was headed by Cusack back to Lacey who running in from deep but his half-volley went just over the bar. HT - The entertainment was O'Leary practising his shooting with only 2 out of 15 found the net from the penalty spot, to be fair he hit the post around 6 times! Barry came out in the second half with a lot of passion, but their plan was just to hack anything in white. Boyd came off for Psycho on 55 mins. Barry's crossing had improved ten fold in the second half and with Swansea's defensive frailties left showing bare for all to see none were surprised to see the equaliser just not the fashion as to how it was scored. With a great run from midfield by Jamie Moralee, Howard managed to intercept and laid the ball back to Jones to clear. His clearance managed to go about 10 ft left of him and 2 ft behind! Leaving Moralee who had followed up with an easy chance. Things then looked to get worse, but Price was finally starting to show the form Hollins has been keeping him in the side for giving Barry's left back a nightmare. The linesman clearly a Cardiff supporter was giving a foul against him with every dive from the left back. The Swans fans were giving Mr S.Hames (the linesman in Q.) a right rollicking when for some obscure reason as play was carrying on Price was booked again for an excellent tackle! Even Hollins was going beserk and had to be sent back to his dugout by the FIFA rep! The inconsistency of the ref was shocking with Barry players flying in with two feet and not even a foul given it must have been disheartening to the players to find they couldn't touch the Barry players! With only one striker upfront against 5 defenders and down to ten men, there was little hope for us to win the match now. Hollins brought on O'Leary to replace Psycho who only managed to play 20 mins, but there was little sign of injury. Barry know had 80% of possession for the last 10 mins but could do little with it. The Swans nearly won the match though just before injury time. From a free kick just outside their own half Lacey crossed the ball for Cusack to head across goal Watkin laid it back for Bound who had to stretch back to volley the ball just over the top corner. In summary 1-1 was probably a fair result if you went on possession, but Barry just liked to kick the ball around their defence for a minute before each attack, and did not look dangerous in the most part. If you summarised the game on chances then Swans could and should have won the match, but every chance was difficult and little blame could be made for not capitalising on them.

Photo: Action Images

Portsmouth Polls