Barry Town United make FIVE signings in aim for Cymru Premier return
Barry, Wales, UK. 6th Oct 2020. Chris Hugh of Barry Town tackles Liam Warman of Cardiff Met Barry Town United v Cardiff Met at Jenner Park in the JD Cymru Premier on the 6th October 2020. Credit: Lewis Mitchell/YCPD
Barry Town United have responded to their relegation from the Cymru Premier by making five new signings for the 2022/23 Cymru South season.
The Linnets, who have opted to stick with long-serving boss Gavin Chesterfield despite dropping back into the second tier, are giving him the tools to bounce back at the first time of asking.
Three of their newest signings have played for the club before whilst the other two will hope to repeat the feat of 2017 when Barry won the Welsh League title.
Midfielder Troy Greening and striker Gavin Beddard have joined from Pontypridd Town, the club which is replacing them in the Welsh top flight after they finished second.
Greening joined Pontypridd in January after spending the first part of the campaign with Ardal South Cup winners Trethomas.
After recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that sidelined him for almost two seasons, the 29-year-old made 17 appearances in total for both Pontypridd and the Bluebirds, scoring twice for the latter in the Cup.
Returning alongside him to Jenner Park from the USW Sport Park is Gavin Beddard, who first played for what is his hometown club in the 2000s. Formerly the manager of Pontypridd, the 41-year-old will join Barry’s coaching staff as well and brings with him a wealth of experience at this level. Beddard last season played 33 times and scored 14 goals in total as well as earning three assists.
Topping off the returns is striker Josh Graham, who is back at the Vale of Glamorgan club for his second spell after leaving last summer. He was initially announced as a signing for Penybont but ended up playing for Ardal South East outfit Goytre, reuniting with a number of his former STM Sports teammates.
The 28-year-old found the back of the net 19 times in 29 matches for the Monmouthshire-based side last year as they finished fifth after a heavy points deduction.
Supporting Graham in attack will be Liam Warman who makes the move from Cardiff Metropolitan. The 23-year-old winger is moving on from Cyncoed Campus after three-and-a-bit seasons in the top flight.
He made 57 appearances from 2019 to 2022 in the league and got four goals after graduating from their reserve and development teams.
Adding to Barry’s back line, Liam Walsh has joined Barry from Welsh Cup runners-up Penybont after a few seasons with them.
The 25-year-old had been at Penybont for the last two seasons and racked up and played a total of 32 times across all competitions. Before that, he played for Prestatyn Town, Wrexham, and Carmarthen Town.
Announcing his departure from the SDM Glass Stadium in mid-May, he said: “Thank you @PenybontFC_ and @RhysGriffiths9 for everything over the last few seasons. It’s time to move on, but I have loved every minute of it.
“Great club and even better people.”
As well as incomings, Barry have seen Kelland Absalom depart for Penybont, whilst Nat Jarvis’ departure has also been announced with his next destination yet to be revealed.
