The Nomads, a fellow League of Wales side, defeated Newtown in the Third round of the Cup, drawing 1-1 at the Deeside Stadium, Connah's Quay, before a 4th minute goal from Jamie Hughes gave the Nomads a vital 1-0 victory in the replay at Latham Park in Newtown.
There will be an added spice to the match at Jenner Park, as Connah's Quay defeated Barry 2-1 in last season's Welsh Cup semi-final, for which Barry will want revenge. In that game, a 5th minute strike from the Nomads' Hughes was equalised by Danny Carter's 20th minute goal. However, a 50th minute free-kick from former Tranmere Rovers player, Steve Futcher, gave the Nomads their first ever victory over Barry. They eventually lost on penalties to Bangor City in the final.
In the other Third Round replays, Carmarthen Town swept aside CC Sports League, Chepstow, winning 5-2, Port Talbot Athletic defeated Porth Tywyn Suburbs 1-0, BP Llandarcy won 3-2 against British Aerospace and, in the shock of the round, Flint Town United of the Cymru Alliance knocked out League of Wales bottom club, Rhyl, winning after a penalty shoot-out in the replay. Rhyl are the only LoW side to be defeated by a side from a lower division.
Meanwhile, with Bangor defeated by Rhayader Town, there will be a new name on the Welsh Cup this season.
Welsh Cup Third Round results and Fourth Round draw
Wrexham scored after 46 minutes, when Kevin Russell fired past Andy Dibble in the Barry goal, winning the game for the English league side.
That victory takes Wrexham to second place in group B, with 9 points from 5 games. Barry lie in third with 7 points from 4 games. However, Barry have to play group whipping boys, Caernarfon Town, on both occasions. One victory would see Barry through to the quarter-finals as a minimum of one of the best third placed clubs in the three groups.
The latest FAW Premier Cup results and tables
Dibble made his debut last Tuesday against Swansea City in the FAW Premier Cup, while regular Barry 'keeper, Dave Wells, was in Northern Ireland for their under-21 friendly. Dibble is the fifth player to play in goal for Barry this season, following the boots of David Nurse, Pat Mountain, Tynan Scope and Wells himself.
'Mack' was chairman of the Club between 1992 and 1996, overseeing the beginning of the Supporters' Club's recent administrative overhaul.
The opening goal was somewhat of a fluke, when Paul Walker's attempted clearance rebounded off Gary Lloyd and fell to Eifion Williams, who cheekily rounded Haverfordwest keeper Frederickson, and put the ball in the net. There was nothing cheeky about Eifion's matchwinning goal, though, as a magnificent 40 yard volley/lob easily beat Frederickson.
Barry face a difficult tie in the fourth round, as they meet the winner of the Newtown v Connah's Quay Nomads match, whose replay is on Wednesday evening. Connah's Quay defeated Barry to reach the final of the Welsh Cup last season, while Newtown, who were second in last year's LoW, reached the semi-final.
Welsh Cup Third round results and Fourth round draw
The Dragons beat group-leaders Swansea City 2-0 at Jenner Park, giving Barry 7 points from 3 matches. Swansea have 10 points from 5 games, having lost and drawn with Barry. Third placed Wrexham have 6 points from 4 games, while bottom Caernarfon have 0 points from their four matches.
The top two sides reach the quarter-final stages. Barry need to defeat bottom club, Caernarfon Town on both occasions to go forward to the last eight, or to defeat Caernarfon once and cup holders Wrexham.
The Dragons' next FAW Premier Cup match is against Wrexham next Monday, after entertaining Haverfordwest in the Welsh Cup Third Round this Saturday.
In Group A of the Premier Cup, Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff City drew at Penydarren Park and both have 5 points. Bangor City lost 2-1 at Rhyl.
The FAW Premier Cup results and tables
In a first half dominated by the swirling winds around Belle Vue, neither side was able to get a grip on the match, with Rhyl's Timmy Steel and Adrian Jones going close.
Barry, however, scored midway through the half. Danny Carter had been tripped, 35 yards from goal, and Gary Lloyd rifled his shot home, although blame perhaps lies with the Rhyl goalkeeper, who reached the ball but failed to keep it out.
Barry went close ten minutes from half-time, when a fluid passing move saw Danny Carter shoot from six yards, but the keeper saved with his feet.
The second half saw Barry run riot, although, again, Rhyl had opportunities to score.
Barry's second goal came in the 55th minute, when Eifion Williams beat the Rhyl defence. With Carter homing in on goal, Williams allowed the midfield player to beat the keeper, and sidefoot into an open net.
Barry went further ahead in the 60th minute. Good work from Eifion Williams and Terry Evans on the right saw Williams fire a shot on target. That was parried, and fell to Richard Jones, who struck a calm and measured strike from 10 yards.
Williams finally got on the scoresheet with his 63rd minute goal. Beating players on the right, he fired a terrific shot, which crashed against the underneath of the crossbar, but continued its' flight into the goal.
Lloyd scored again after 83 minutes, winning the battle for a header for a low corner before collecting the rebound, and shooting past a forest of defenders from 6 yards.
Eifion Williams finished off the goalscoring in the 85th minute, collecting a cross from Dempsey, and firing home past the despairing keeper.
Aberystwyth climbed to second after a 2-1 away win at Bangor City. Steve Jones had scored for Bangor in the first minute of the game, but goals from Andy Evans and Aneurin Thomas (supplied by former Barry player, Gareth Knott) saw the Green and Blacks move above Cwmbran Town in the table.
Cwmbran, of course, lost 6-3 to then-bottom side, Rhayader Town, on Friday night.
Fourth-placed Haverfordwest didn't play, while Newtown in 5th spot, thumped Afan Lido 4-0. Conwy moved up to 12th after a 2-1 home win over Caersws, while the other three matches ended as 1-1 draws; Caernarfon - Connah's Quay, Holywell - Carmarthen, Inter Cable-tel - Total Network Solutions.
Barry Town results 1998-99
League of Wales results and table 1998-99
Cwmbran, possibly feeling the after-effects of their Gilbert Cup match with Inter Cable-tel only two days ago, quickly went 2-0 down to the mid-Wales village club. They recovered to make it 3-2 by half-time, but in the second half, Rhayader scored four goals without reply.
Barry look set to remain on top of the League of Wales, whatever the result at Rhyl tomorrow. The Dragons have 25 pts from 10 matches. Cwmbran have 24 from 11 and 3rd placed Aberystwyth have 22pts from 10 games.
Both Inter Cabletel and Cwmbran Town fielded a number of reserve players in tonight's match, which concluded in a goaless draw. Both sides have scored prolifically in recent games, with Inter hitting 11 in 2 matches, and Cwmbran scoring 6 last week at home to Caernarfon.
Barry, who beat Haverfordwest last night, will face the winner of the replay. Last year, Barry beat Cwmbran Town in the semi-final.
In the North Wales section of the year, Bangor City will face Caernarfon Town in a repeat of their semi-final last season. Bangor thrashed Newtown 5-0, with new signing from Rhyl, Tommy Mutton, scoring twice on his Blues debut. Caernarfon defeated Total Network Solutions 2-1 this evening.
League of Wales Cup results 1998-99
Barry face Rhyl at Belle Vue on Saturday, and hope that this will not be the beginning of cynical pitch invasions of the fluffy, four legged kind.
Some very pretty sheep
This was the first of three performances against the West Walian side, who feature former Barry manager, Eddie May, as 'Director of Football', and was clearly the least important with Barry featuring several squad players. Darren Davies, Jody Jenkins, Chris Pridham and Justin Perry all started the match, with Mark Dempsey, Gary Lloyd, Richard Jones and Gary Barnett all resting. With captain, Andrew York still injured, former Wrexham player, Gareth Shone played in the centre of defence.
Eifion Williams' goal came after only four minutes of play, and killed any chance of an upset, despite the Bluebirds averaging five goals a match in their past four games.
Neither side looked particularly concerned about the result, although the Haverfordwest management will be concerned about their disciplinary record, with five players being booked, including the sending off of Jamie Rickard. For Barry, Eifion Williams received a yellow card for a late, reckless challenge.
Barry made no substitutions during the match, but settled their progression in injury time, when the ten men visitors were unable to prevent Danny Carter's perfectly flighted chip being headed home by Justin Perry.
The other two quarter-finals, featuring Cwmbran Town v Inter Cabletel and Caernarfon Town v Total Network Solutions will take place tomorrow evening.
League of Wales Cup results 1998-99
The awards, which are to be sponsored, will be presented at the end of the season.
The Dragons' first real opportunity came from a Danny Carter cross, which Vernon Keep failed to clear. Unfortunately, Gary Lloyd was unsighted and was unable to make contact with the ball, despite being only yards from the goalline.
Barry went equally close minutes later, when Mark Dempsey shot from 25 yards, but Holywell keeper, Leigh Edwards was able to make a good save, reaching high above him to save.
Barry's first goal came out of the blue, with Gary Lloyd turning and his cross-sum-shot eluding Leigh Edwards in the ?th minute. Barry added a second minutes later, as Dempsey spied Edwards off his goalline, and lobbed him from 20 yards.
The scoreline remained until ten minutes after half-time, when Gary Lloyd again shot from distance through a forest of players, his 30-yard strike coming off Edwards, but only being parried into the net.
The experienced Richard Jones and Danny Carter were replaced by Justin Perry and Chris Pridham, but Barry remained neutered inside the Holywell box, with the away side defending crosses well, and Edwards pulling off a number of saves.
Eventually, the pressure told on the Well defence, and when Perry was able to beat his marker, his cross found Eifion Williams at the far post, who casually slotted the ball home.
That was the end of the scoring, despite a number of further chances being created. A shot from Eifion Williams was saved by Edwards's legs, with the rebound bouncing off Williams and over the bar. Shortly after, both Dempsey and new substitute Jody Jenkins had fine shots saved by Edwards.
A comfortable Barry performance, with the home side not being stretched to their full limit. Nevertheless, it wasz a good win, and keeps Barry on top of the League of Wales.
Elsewhere, Inter Cabletel made their second big score of the week, defeating bottom of the table, Rhayader, 5-0. Despite featuring their Brazilian, Junior, and a home crowd of nearly 400, the mid-Wales village side slumped to a heavy defeat and remain bottom of the LoW. Inter, meanwhile, jump several places, to ninth.
At the top of the LoW, Cwmbran kept the pressure on Barry, winning 3-1 at Caersws. The Crows are just a point behind Barry.
Elsewhere, Caernarfon and Conwy fought out a 1-1 draw, with the away side equalising with a 25-yard strike in injury time. At Treflan, Total Network Solutions were kept to a 1-1 draw with Afan Lido, while at Carmarthen, Bangor City continued their winning ways with a 2-1 win. That match sees Bangor climb the table to tenth spot.
The match between fourth placed Haverfordwest County and sixth placed Connah's Quay Nomads was postponed due to continued bad weather and trouble with Connah's Quay's pitch.
League of Wales results and updated table 1998-99
The article was about Bangor City's recent turmoil, but Barnett was quoted on the fact that every team wants to beat Barry, while Johnson concluded the article, stating that "The League is the best thing to happen to Welsh football. I only wish it had happened one hundred years ago".
Automatic qualification is afforded to the two sides top of the group. Presuming Barry will defeat Caernarfon Town both home and away (Caernarfon remain bottom with 0 points from 3 matches, and have never taken a point from Barry), then Barry must draw one of their two remaining matches. Should Barry lose both matches, then they must rely on Swansea defeating Wrexham, or the lottery of finishing third and qualifying through being one of the best third placed sides.
In Group A, Bangor City defeated Rhyl 3-1, and climbed to top of the group with 6 points from 4 matches.
The North Wales side slipped a place further down the LoW table, as Barry coasted to victory, assisted by two penalties, both of which were converted by assistant-manager Richard Jones.
Barry used a normal side, and went ahead through LoW top-scorer, Eifion Williams, who netted his 12th LoW goal after 29 minutes. That was followed soon after by bookings to Bangor City's Lloyd and Horner, the latter over the first penalty decision.
Jones stepped up to take the penalty and put Barry 2-0 ahead at the break. With no further bookings, Barry coasted through the second half, adding a third goa from the penalty spot in the dying minutes.
There was another thrashing at the Cardiff Athletic Stadium, where Inter Cabletel won their first LoW home match of the season in style. They defeated Caersws in style on Sunday, with goals coming from Paul Evans, Samir Misbah, Sean Wharton, Jamie Murray (2), and Simon Dyer.
Meanwhile, at Bridge Meadow, Rhyl were on the end of a thrashing, losing 5-2 to Haverfordwest. Richard Gay scored four of Haverfordwest's goals, as the Bluebirds continued a stunning run of victories. Caretaker-manager, Mike Ellery, has been rewarded with having his position made permanent, with former Barry manager, Eddie May, moving 'upstairs' to become the club's Director of Football. Barry face Haverfordwest three times in the next month, and will be keeping a close eye on events in West Wales
Connah's Quay Nomads defeated Conwy 3-1 at the Morfa, while the matches between Newtown and Carmarthen, and T.N.S and Aberystwyth resulted in goalless draws. The match between Afan Lido and Rhayader Town was postponed after continued poor weather in Port Talbot.
That yellow card was dished out to winger Mark Dempsey in the 92nd minute of the clash at Total Network Solutions. Dempsey was booked for throwing the ball away.
Barry lead the table with only 8 bookings, with T.N.S below them on 17 yellows and no reds, and Aberystwyth on 18 yellows/no reds. Afan Lido and Rhayader have 10 and 11 yellows respectively, but have ruined their records with a sending off apiece.
Bangor have received 25 yellow cards and 2 reds, while Conwy have seen red on 3 occasions, with a further 19 yellows brandished in their direction.
In second place is Haverfordwest's Richard Gay, who has scored 9 LoW goals and 3 in the cup, while Barry's Richard Jones is in 6th spot, with 6 LoW goals this year, including two last Saturday.
Knott, a former u-21 player, from Blackwood, had previously been at English Tottenham Hotspur, before joining Barry in October, 1996. He was a part of the treble-winning squad of 1996-97, but was unable to command a regular place in the 1997-98 championship winning side, and left the club at the end of that season.
In last season's League of Wales, Knott started 11 matches (including one as goalkeeper!), was a used substitute on 18 occasions, and scored five goals.
Martin was manager at Rhyl until a fortnight ago, when he resigned after a 5-4 home win over Denbigh Town in the Welsh Cup. He accepted the job of assistant at Bangor City, but has already left that task.
Links to other sites on the Web
Barry Town homepage
League of Wales results 1998-99
Barry Town News - October 1998
Barry Town News - August/September 1998
Barry Town News - Spring 1998
Barry Town results 1998-99
This page edited by the Yellow Dragon, 1998.