Barry were beaten 57-28 at Division One frontrunners St Albans in their last Admiral League game before the November break.
This was a vastly improved performance on the previous week’s disappointing loss to Rhydyfelin, with Barry picking up a well-deserved try bonus point from a match which initially promised much, but got away in the last 20 minutes.
Against a team chasing a promotion place in Division One East Central, Barry were ahead at the interval and stayed very much in the game well into the second half, hitting back with their fourth try to cut the Buns’ lead to five points before injuries tilted the balance in favour of the hosts, who accelerated away.
“After last week, as you can imagine, training was tough, not so much physically, but psychologically to try to turn it round,” said head coach Mike Morgan.
“Everything was working against us this week and I was asking a lot from the squad to come here and perform. I’m pleased to say that for two thirds of the game we performed well. They stuck to the game plan, had the right mindset and showed heart.”
After a fast-paced first half, Barry were 21-19 ahead at the break and following two early second half tries by the Buns, they hit back to trail 33-28 on the hour before St Albans responded with 24 unanswered points.
The hosts’ cause was considerably helped by Barry’s high penalty count, although some of the infringements were far from obvious. But they proved costly as the Bombers lost territory in good attacking positions or were forced to defend deep.
“Irrespective of the score, it was a positive response from last week. We turned a lot around, but to win these games we’ve got to maintain our discipline, and cut out some of the mistakes.", said Morgan.
"I thought at one stage it would come down to which team makes the fewer mistakes. Unfortunately it was us.”
Barry scorers: tries - Josh Edwards (12'), penalty try (19', Owen Rees (40'), Joe Gatt (60') - conversions - Morgan Prosser x3
St Albans scorers: tries - Ryan Cook 4, Jake Donovan 2, Roman Facey, Joe Davies - conversions - Luke Fish x7 - penalty - Fish
*On Remembrance weekend, prior to the match, a minute’s silence was observed.
Barry were also paying tribute Andy Jamieson, a former player and long-serving member of the committee who was an integral part of the administration and continued survival and growth of the club.
St Albans’ tribute was for Jimmy Pratt, one of the founders of the club’s mini and junior section.
*Barry are next in action on Saturday December 13th at Abercynon. Following the international break, the scheduled December 6th home fixture has been postponed as Caerphilly have a Division 1 Cup tie.
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