Barry Town Utd 7-0 Willows Ladies

Barry move into a three way tie at the top of the league following comprehensive win.

Barry Town Utd Ladies went into their eighth league game of the season looking to maintain their 100% winning start in the Welsh Women’s League to keep the pressure on league leaders Caldicot Town and Aberystwyth Town who had played more fixtures up to this point.

This match was to be the reverse fixture between the two sides having played the previous weekend with Barry coming out on top in a 3-0 away victory.

This fixture was played at Cardiff International Athletic Stadium on a 3G surface and it didn’t take long for Barry to get into their rhythm. The opening exchanges saw chances fall at either end with Barry goalkeeper Erin Brennan making a good 1v1 save and striker Emma Cannon firing across goal.

The deadlock however was broken after 19 minutes when some neat build up play found Sian Rees who played a through ball to Cannon who from a tight angle fired home at the near post to give Barry the opening goal.

With Barry in the lead and with their tails up, they took complete control of the game during the following 16 minutes which would see them net a further three goals. Another Rees through ball found Cannon through on goal who chipped the goalkeeper with an excellent strike using the outside of her foot on 23 minutes for her seventh goal of the season.

Rees was then to get her name on the score sheet with a thumping 25 yard effort that went into the roof of the net to make it 3-0 and then Captain, Charlotte Preen netted her sixth goal of the season with a similar long range effort making it 4-0 after 35 minutes played.

The second half saw Barry continue to have the majority of possession but credit must go to Willows who kept battling through the game despite the score line and it was clear to see the newly promoted side have made good progress since joining the league in September.

It took Barry just two second half minutes to net their fifth goal and it was Rees again that finished off an excellent Barry move that started from the goalkeeper. Having played through the defensive and midfield units the ball found Rees who drove towards goal and unleashed a tremendous curling strike into the bottom corner to make it 5-0.

Barry made several changes during the second half with Taylor Page replacing Rees and Courtney Martin-Luce coming on for Alicia Cox to give valuable match time to the squad.

Just after the hour mark, defender Holly Vowles made it 6-0 and her second goal in consecutive games when she got on the end of a Preen corner which capped an excellent all round performance for the former Swansea City Ladies captain.

The hosts were looking strong all over the pitch with Tracey White and Alex Allen looking composed alongside Vowles at the back with Preen and Ellen Phillips dictating the majority of Barry’s build-up play. Olivia Townsend put in a fantastic shift down Barry’s right and was a constant menace to the visitors.

Barry were to find the net one final time before the game was up and it was another fine strike from outside the penalty area as substitute Page struck an excellent left foot shot into the bottom corner to make it 7-0 and maintain Barry’s excellent league form which sees them make it a three way tie at the top of the league table.

Following the match, Manager Luke Williams commented, “I thought we were excellent today all over the pitch and we scored some fantastic goals. It was important to ensure the players went into the game with the right mentality and maintained their standards having played the same opposition last week and I can’t fault their performance.”

Barry now go into their final game of 2018 on Sunday 9th December with a top of the table clash with Aberystwyth Town which will be played at Jenner Park Stadium 2pm kick off. The game is FREE ENTRY for supporters.