Barry Town put on a solid defensive display against Cliftonville as their Europa League Preliminary first leg ended in a goalless draw at Leckwith Stadium.
The team from Northern Ireland dominated possession and had the better chances but Gavin Henderson’s side managed to keep a clean sheet thanks to some great performances at the back.
Here are five things that we learned from the game…
Cliftonville are very comfortable in possession
Cliftonville had 63% possession in the match and looked very capable on the ball. They played some intricate football at times and frequently used passing triangles to try and penetrate Town’s defence.
The NIFL Premiership team also utilised the wings a lot. Both full-backs looked to get forward whenever possible to test Barry’s defence with some good crosses into the box.
Barry dealt with this well though thanks to some great performances at the back from Luke Cooper and from 18 year old Evan Press. However, if Cliftonville took their chances, they could have won this game by a few goals.
Barry must avoid playing too deep
Town’s tactic seemed to be to sit deep and play on the counter but this proved ineffective.
Kayne McLaggon did well as the lone striker but he was far too isolated and needed support from midfield runners which he did not get.
Perhaps a solution would be to play a bigger target man such as Sam Snaith up front who can hold the ball up, which would then allow others to join the attack from deep.
Another consequence of Town playing too deep was that they invited pressure from a very attacking Cliftonville side and frequently allowed them too much time on the ball.
They must also employ a higher defensive line to try and stop the Northern Irish team from having too much possession.
Town are solid at the back
While Cliftonville arguably should have been more clinical, Town made it extremely difficult for them to create any clear-cut chances.
Luke Cooper was immense at centre back, throwing his body at every shot and he also made some vital interceptions. It was also an impressive display from 18 year old Evan Press who was making his competitive debut for the club.
Both of them were aerially dominant, clearing away the majority of Cliftonville’s testing crosses. A word must also be said for goalkeeper Mike Lewis who made a number of important saves to keep a clean sheet.
It can be said with confidence that Town’s defensive performance in this first leg has kept them in this tie.
Cliftonville look deadly going forward
In all honesty, it was very surprising that the game finished 0-0. Cliftonville could have scored four goals and probably should have.
Rory Donnelly looked sharp up front and he came close a few times with Barry lucky to not concede.
Paddy McLaughlin’s team were wasteful in truth as only one of their nine shots was on target.
Had they been more clinical they would almost certainly have had a multiple-goal advantage going into the second leg.
Their record goalscorer Joe Gormley came on ten minutes before full time but if he starts next Thursday, Town will need to put in another solid defensive showing to keep the clinical Irishman out.
Both sides need more game time
The majority of the game was played at quite a slow tempo and both sets of players looked slightly off the pace.
This should be forgiven though as both sides only played one pre-season friendly before this tie and have not had a great deal of time to prepare.
A lack of game time could make the second leg interesting and it may come down to who tires first in a war of attrition.
Whatever the case, Barry Town face a very difficult task when they travel to Belfast on July 4 for the second leg.
(Featured Image: Lewis Mitchell)
Eric Hall
Two things that I learnt were
1) Barry were lamentable up front, and they aren’t going to win games, either at European or at WPL level, if they don’t have anyone up front who can score goals. I felt truly sorry for McLaggon, out wide up front, with no-one to plat
2) Chris Hugh won’t be at the club for long. He’ll be another one on his way to the Football League before the end of the January window. he was my Man of the Match for Barry by a country mile.