Play Off Triumph For Barnton
Sat 14th May 2016 | General | By Ian Templeman
Barnton will be playing Premier Division football next season after a 2-0 win after extra time against Bacup Borough in the First Division Play Off Final at Townfield.
It took until the eighth minute of extra time before the deadlock was broken, with Jason McShane heading Barnton in front, but it took an outstanding save from Barnton keeper Richie Mottram to preserve his side's lead before Ryan Malone wrapped up the win with a second goal a minute from the end.
It was a victory that the Villagers probably deserved on the run of play over the course of the afternoon, but it was a hard fought win against a stubborn Bacup side who defended stoutly, and were well marshalled at the back by the experienced central defensive pairing of Adrian Bellamy and Gareth Wager.
Barnton enjoyed the better of the first half exchanges, and could have gone ahead after just 14 minutes. A good run from Chris Smith down the left took him past a defender, and he squared to Kevin Towey who took a touch and fired in a shot on the turn from ten yards that just cleared the crossbar.
Bacup keeper Josh Harris was then called on to make saves from Matthew Rigby and Jason McShane as the game neared the midway point of the first half, and Bacup's first effort on goal arrived in the 27th minute, when Kyle Hendley screwed a shot wide from outside the area.
A free kick from Barnton's Kevin Towey just after the half hour sailed over the bar, and at the other end Michael Gervin reacted quickly to send in a snap shot on goal when Anthony Hall's free kick was headed into his path, but he also missed the target as both sides struggled to create clear chances with defences on top.
The pattern was similar in the opening period of the second half, with both sides enjoying spells of possession and looking comfortable on the ball, but lacking a cutting edge up front.
With 20 minutes to go, Barnton skipper Kevin Pollard came close with a shot from the edge of the box, and as the game moved in to the last 15 minutes, Barnton keeper Richie Mttram had to react quickly to pinch the ball from the toes of Bacup striker Matthew Barlow, as he tried to get on the end of a cross from Michael Gervin.
The 90 minutes ended goalless, so a further 30 minutes of extra time was required, and eight minutes in, the deadlock was finally broken.
A sustained period of pressure from Barnton ended when a cross from the right by Daniel Laverty was met by Jason McShane inside the box, whose downward header beat Harris to put the Villagers ahead.
Two minutes into the second period of extra time, Barnton came close to adding a second goal but were denied by a fine save from Harris, who blocked McShane's shot with his foot after the Barnton striker had been put through by Laverty.
Three minutes from the end of extra time, Barnton had keeper Richie Mottram to thank for keeping them ahead, when he made an outstanding save from an Adrian Bellamy effort.
Getting on the end of a cut back from Matthew Bryan, Bellamy struck a shot sweetly from 20 yards that was heading for the top corner, but Mottram launched himself full length across goal to push the ball away at full stretch.
Within 90 seconds, Barnton secured victory and Premier Division football next season with a decisive second goal, when Callum Scott got the break of the ball and set up Ryan Malone for a shot from the edge of the box that ended up in the back of the net off the inside of the post.
Barnton manager Danny Meadowcroft paid tribute to his side afterwards.
"The lads worked really hard, and it's been a great end to the season", he said.
"We created chances, but for a long time the ball just wouldn't fall for us, and we just couldn't put it away.
"But I felt if we just kept on going we would get a chance, and we kept plugging away and got there in the end.
"Obviously right at the end Motts has made an unbelievable save, an absolute "worldie" of a save, and then the icing on the cake came right at the end when Ryan slotted home".
An interested observer at the game was non-league enthusiast and TalkSport reporter Tony Incenzo, who gave his thoughts after the game.
"It was a good game, and Barnton deserved it, they could have been two or three up by half time", said Tony.
"They had a very good chance early on, and there were a couple of very good saves by the Bacup keeper.
"It was more even in the second half, but as the game wore on I thought Barnton deserved a goal.
"It was a good occasion, a big crowd and lots of representatives from other clubs around the league, and it was good to see everyone here.
"Play offs keep the season alive for a lot of clubs. Even towards the end of the season, mid-table clubs can still make a surge towards the play offs, and the interest they create you can see today.
"This was more than double Barnton's biggest crowd of the season and that is fantastic.
"I've driven for 3 hours and 200 miles to get here, I've enjoyed it and a lot of other people have too".
Play Off Triumph For Barnton
Sat 14th May 2016 | General
By Ian Templeman
Barnton will be playing Premier Division football next season after a 2-0 win after extra time against Bacup Borough in the First Division Play Off Final at Townfield.
It took until the eighth minute of extra time before the deadlock was broken, with Jason McShane heading Barnton in front, but it took an outstanding save from Barnton keeper Richie Mottram to preserve his side's lead before Ryan Malone wrapped up the win with a second goal a minute from the end.
It was a victory that the Villagers probably deserved on the run of play over the course of the afternoon, but it was a hard fought win against a stubborn Bacup side who defended stoutly, and were well marshalled at the back by the experienced central defensive pairing of Adrian Bellamy and Gareth Wager.
Barnton enjoyed the better of the first half exchanges, and could have gone ahead after just 14 minutes. A good run from Chris Smith down the left took him past a defender, and he squared to Kevin Towey who took a touch and fired in a shot on the turn from ten yards that just cleared the crossbar.
Bacup keeper Josh Harris was then called on to make saves from Matthew Rigby and Jason McShane as the game neared the midway point of the first half, and Bacup's first effort on goal arrived in the 27th minute, when Kyle Hendley screwed a shot wide from outside the area.
A free kick from Barnton's Kevin Towey just after the half hour sailed over the bar, and at the other end Michael Gervin reacted quickly to send in a snap shot on goal when Anthony Hall's free kick was headed into his path, but he also missed the target as both sides struggled to create clear chances with defences on top.
The pattern was similar in the opening period of the second half, with both sides enjoying spells of possession and looking comfortable on the ball, but lacking a cutting edge up front.
With 20 minutes to go, Barnton skipper Kevin Pollard came close with a shot from the edge of the box, and as the game moved in to the last 15 minutes, Barnton keeper Richie Mttram had to react quickly to pinch the ball from the toes of Bacup striker Matthew Barlow, as he tried to get on the end of a cross from Michael Gervin.
The 90 minutes ended goalless, so a further 30 minutes of extra time was required, and eight minutes in, the deadlock was finally broken.
A sustained period of pressure from Barnton ended when a cross from the right by Daniel Laverty was met by Jason McShane inside the box, whose downward header beat Harris to put the Villagers ahead.
Two minutes into the second period of extra time, Barnton came close to adding a second goal but were denied by a fine save from Harris, who blocked McShane's shot with his foot after the Barnton striker had been put through by Laverty.
Three minutes from the end of extra time, Barnton had keeper Richie Mottram to thank for keeping them ahead, when he made an outstanding save from an Adrian Bellamy effort.
Getting on the end of a cut back from Matthew Bryan, Bellamy struck a shot sweetly from 20 yards that was heading for the top corner, but Mottram launched himself full length across goal to push the ball away at full stretch.
Within 90 seconds, Barnton secured victory and Premier Division football next season with a decisive second goal, when Callum Scott got the break of the ball and set up Ryan Malone for a shot from the edge of the box that ended up in the back of the net off the inside of the post.
Barnton manager Danny Meadowcroft paid tribute to his side afterwards.
"The lads worked really hard, and it's been a great end to the season", he said.
"We created chances, but for a long time the ball just wouldn't fall for us, and we just couldn't put it away.
"But I felt if we just kept on going we would get a chance, and we kept plugging away and got there in the end.
"Obviously right at the end Motts has made an unbelievable save, an absolute "worldie" of a save, and then the icing on the cake came right at the end when Ryan slotted home".
An interested observer at the game was non-league enthusiast and TalkSport reporter Tony Incenzo, who gave his thoughts after the game.
"It was a good game, and Barnton deserved it, they could have been two or three up by half time", said Tony.
"They had a very good chance early on, and there were a couple of very good saves by the Bacup keeper.
"It was more even in the second half, but as the game wore on I thought Barnton deserved a goal.
"It was a good occasion, a big crowd and lots of representatives from other clubs around the league, and it was good to see everyone here.
"Play offs keep the season alive for a lot of clubs. Even towards the end of the season, mid-table clubs can still make a surge towards the play offs, and the interest they create you can see today.
"This was more than double Barnton's biggest crowd of the season and that is fantastic.
"I've driven for 3 hours and 200 miles to get here, I've enjoyed it and a lot of other people have too".
