How Barry Town set the pace in early dominance of Welsh Premier League
With Barry Town United back in the Welsh Premier League for the first time in 13-years, they were once the big hitters of Wales' top flight and in a similar sense as dominant as The New Saints are today.
A team with a well-respected history, Barry were the team everyone used to fear in Welsh football.
With the club winning Welsh League Division One in the 1993/1994 season, winning a total of 27 of their 34 games, they would go onto create a team which would be the pinnacle of Welsh football in the late 90s.
1995/1996… The dominance begins for Barry
Their first Welsh Premier Legue title win came in the 1995/1996 season, where they took the league by storm, scoring 92 goals and only losing three out of a possible 40 games in that particular season.
This was just the start for the Vale of Glamorgan outfit, though. There was more to come – and a decade of domination was about to begin.
Under the guidance of manager Gary Barnett, everyone had their instincts, that, this Barry Town team could go on to dominate the Welsh Premier League for years to come.
1996/1997… Unbelievable Barry Town
Its a song which is chanted at Jenner Park these days, but this season was a spectacular one for the Barry faithful.
If you thought the season before was special, then this was something else. At the end of the season, Barry Town United would end up scoring a whooping 129 goals in just 40 games, leaving them with a goal difference of +103, but now there were huge expectations for the following season.
After two Welsh Premier League Championships for the Vale of Glamorgan outfit, the question was, could Gary Barnett's men keep producing the goods in the Welsh Premier League, and how long would their dominance last.
1997/1998… A hat-trick of Welsh Premier League's
To further prove their complete superiority, Barry would go on to win their third consecutive Welsh Premier League title.
And, in the process, they would score more goals than in the previous season – 134, five goals more than they'd managed in the previous season.
Barry were now making a real statement of intent, that they were the team everyone should fear – and nobody relished the challenge of facing Gary Barnett's exceptionally well-drilled side, who attacked with such fluency, as well as having an excellently organised defence at the other end of the pitch.
1998/1999… This team were something special
Another Welsh Premier League title for Barry. It was now four years on the bounce for Gary Barnett's men, who had instilled a real belief into his players. Although, this specific season was less spectacular in the fact that Barry had obtained 28 less points, as well as scoring considerably less goals – 52 to be precise.
Once again, though, Eifion Williams would be key to Barry. His unbelievable record of scoring more goals than games he played made him a huge fans favourite. At the end of his two-year stint at the club, he scored a total of 68 goals in 60 appearances.
Eifion Williams
✅ Oriel yr Anfarwolion 2012/13
⚽ 64 o goliau i @CaernarfonTown
🏆 Esgid Aur a'r bencampwriaeth gyda @BarryTownUnited#UGC25pic.twitter.com/lfz4Pfk95I
— sgorio (@sgorio) July 21, 2017
Next season Barry would be without Williams' goals, as well as their unbelievable manager Gary Barnett, who will surely go down as one of the greatest managers to take the reins at the Vale of Glamorgan club, but even without the influence of their legendary manager and top-scorer, Barry were still a force to be reckoned with, there was no doubt about that.
(Featured Image: ClearAccuracy)
