Barton Rovers 0 – 1 Wealdstone
Barton Rovers0 - 1
WealdstoneDick Barton?
No Special Agents here however as Stones fittingly won a very scrappy match with a deflected goal.
There was so little football played in the first half, that all there is to mention was the poor state of the pitch which was soft at the edges and bone hard in the middle, whilst being rutted and uneven all over. This general poor state made any form of football on the ground difficult, and in the air, a blustery wing that seemed to blow from all angles defeated far more in the air than any defender would do!
The uninteresting nature of the first half continued in the early part of the second, however it was Wealdstone that were making the better of the conditions, Barton limited to an occasional long ball chased by their forwards to try and threaten the Wealdstone goal, but aside from a number of half chances Stones didn’t really threaten – the game as a whole slowing down as players struggled to play in the conditions.
This suited Stones and pressure began to take its toll on the Barton defence who conceded a number of free kick. It was from one of these, after a foul on Jones, that Holmes stepped up to shoot, the ball hitting a defender in the wall and the spin taking it past the home keeper on 61 minutes to give Stones the lead.
The remainder of the match was played in a similar vein, although Morgan, Jones, Holmes and Lamb could have increased the lead. The defence halted the occasional breaks and survived the Barton pressure in the last five minutes, but only a shot come cross caused any concern, Watts palming it wide.
Honest Opinion? In the conditions, one goal always seemed likely to be enough, thankfully, Stones scored it.
Wealdstone: Watts, Norman (s88 Amarteifio), Reed, Walker, Reeve, Lamb, Carter, Jones, Morgan, Holmes (61), Butterfield (s77 Burgess), Sub not used: Tilbury