Welsh domestic football was given a reality check with Barry Town United’s humiliating defeat to Faroese side NSÍ Runavík on Thursday.
Runavík, who had never progressed in a European tie, humbled the Linnets, thrashing them 5-1 at Svangaskarð.
The statistics tell the full story, it was a drubbing and Barry never looked like competing, even with the tie goalless at the break.
There are some elements of the game which need to be addressed, however, both pleading Barry’s case and also offering constructive words of criticism.
From the evidence presented on social media, visibility at pitch level was not at its greatest. This is not an excuse, but more an element of the match which may have affected the result.
Abandoning the fixture or playing it at a later date, such as today or over the weekend, may have caused logistical problems but the sporting integrity of the match must have been in question at stages of the game when the mist was its strongest.
This is not trying to blame the match entirely on the weather, it is merely stating that it was a contributing factor.
You also have to consider the preparations of both sides.
Barry had three warm-up fixtures, the usual for a Welsh team in Europe, however this situation was different.
Gavin Chesterfield’s side qualified from a fourth placed finish, a spot usually used for the Europa League play-offs.
If they were to have won the play-off in a non-COVID world, their season would have concluded in May, and they would have been afforded just a few weeks rest.
Instead, Barry played their first competitive fixture in 167 days, whereas their opponents were more than half way into their domestic campaign.
The Faroe Islands would have been into their campaign even without the pandemic, but there would have at least been a smaller gap when it came to the Dragons’ last fixture.
Match fitness and sharpness do play a part, and Barry’s preparations were limited compared to their Faroese counterparts.
Had Barry and the other clubs been afforded the same training date as fellow ‘elite status’ athletes of Cardiff City and Swansea City, they may have performed better.
🗣 INTERVIEW: “We’ll take some stick, and rightly so, but we’ll use it as motivation to hopefully get stronger.”@Gavchesterfield reflects on last night’s Europa League exit.#YourTownYourTeam pic.twitter.com/vvn0FJlpyA
— Barry Town United (@BarryTownUnited) August 21, 2020
Reflecting on last night’s result, manager Chesterfield said: “We’ll take some stick, and rightly so, but we’ll use it as motivation to hopefully get stronger.”
And receive stick they did. Welsh football was ablaze with criticism last night, with myself included.
A restructure of the league was mentioned, as well as a summer league format.
Others instead focused on criticising Barry and the manner of their performance.
Some who criticise have a minimal interest in the Welsh game, and instead hide behind football played across the border. This isn’t criticism which needs to be taken seriously.
However, criticism is part and parcel of the game and, make no bones about it, the result needs to be criticised in an appropriate manner.
Welsh football cannot have this defeatist attitude if it is to progress. Like any sport, you are there for the good times, so you need to be there for the bad times too.
For me, last night’s result hurt because Welsh football means everything to me. This is not about me, but let’s not sugar coat things. The people who cover the league are not in it for the money, and are instead in it for the love of the game, like hard-working volunteers at clubs.
Ultimately, the players and staff of Barry will be the ones hurting the most from this because they know they could have done better, but there are external factors to consider, as mentioned.
A result like last night not only makes us worry about the coefficient and how the league format might change, but it undoes the work done to get to that position.
The performance of Welsh clubs in Europe is the only real indicator when comparing our leagues.
It is a harsh reality as factors can impact ties, such as Barry’s preparations yesterday, but we cannot compare them differently.
If we go back a day before Barry’s match, we saw Connah’s Quay Nomads narrowly lose 2-0 to Sarajevo.
The Nomads did have their chances against the Bosnian champions, but failed to take them.
Instead, two sucker punches decided the tie with Sarajevo edging them in match sharpness.
However, from the Nomads’ performance, we saw a team which was well drilled and, until the last twenty minutes, a team which matched Sarajevo for fitness.
Sarajevo’s league season is in its infancy with only three games played, whereas Barry’s opponents were 17 games in, so as previously mentioned that is a factor.
I cannot comment too much on significant aspects of the game, due to the unreliable nature of the stream.
However, some of the goals were extremely sloppy and, from what we could see, if it wasn’t for Mike Lewis in the first half, the margin of defeat could have been greater.
A club like Barry, with their prestige in European and Welsh football, should never have a result like that go against them.
The scoreline and the manner of their defeat is a harsh lesson for them to learn and, if they are to return to the glory days they once had, they must become competitive on the European stage.
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