Swans FA Cup adventure ends against Grantham Town
27th August 2019| Barton Town | 1-3 | Grantham Town | Att |
| Moody 37 pen | Smith 35, Westcarr 48, Baldwin 88 | 207 |
Barton Town’s FA Cup campaign ended at the Preliminary Round with a 3-1 defeat to Grantham Town at the weekend.
The Northern Premier League side opened the scoring through Greg Smith before a penalty from Reece Moody brought the Swans back into it. Craig Westcarr and Ryan Baldwin scored in the second half to seal the win and knock Barton out.
| # | Player |
| 1 | Harvey Cartwright |
| 2 | Joe Busby |
| 3 | Will Waudby |
| 4 | Matt Plummer |
| 5 | Ellis Barkworth |
| 16 | Levi Tarbotton ⭐ |
| 7 | Eddie Rogerson 🔻Waudby 70 |
| 8 | Craig Disley (c) |
| 9 | Reece Moody ⚽ 🔻 Cooper 78 |
| 10 | Ben Hinchliffe |
| 11 | Tom Sawyer🔻 Sutton 88 |
| SUB | Jamie Goddard |
| SUB | Tom Waudby 🔺 Rogerson 70 |
| SUB | Marc Cooper 🔺 Moody 78 |
| SUB | Mitch Langton |
| SUB | Braedon Steel |
| SUB | Joel Sutton 🔺 Sawyer 88 |
It was a cagey opening to the game, with chances aplenty for both sides. The Swans felt hard done by when Ben Hinchliffe was pushed off the ball by the Grantham defender, a clear foul which the referee waved away.
On 35 minutes the visitors took the lead as a cross came in and towering forward Greg Smith headed the ball past Harvey Cartwright to put Grantham in the lead.
Two minutes later Barton were awarded their second penalty in as many games which Reece Moody slotted home to put the Swans back in the game almost immediately.
Just before half time there was a nasty looking challenge on Will Waudby, with both sets of players getting involved in a melee. The game threatening to boil over, referee Matthew Bacon booked the Grantham player for the challenge.
Just three minutes after the restart the Gingerbreads were back in the lead, ex-pro Craig Westcarr’s looping header got the better of Cartwright and went in to give them a lead they never surrendered.
The Swans had a couple of penalty appeals turned down, as they looked to break down a resolute Grantham defence. Craig Disley almost put Barton level but his header went just over from close distance.
For small periods Barton looked the better side, despite Grantham being two leagues above the Swans. But in the end their strength prevailed as they finished the game off with a third goal.
Barton were chasing the game, and were caught on the break, with Grantham two on one with Cartwright, the ball was squared and Ryan Baldwin was on hand to tap the ball past the Swans ‘keeper to seal the win and passage to the next round of the cup.
Swans boss Dave Ricardo spoke to Media Manager Aaron Irwin after the game.
AI: It was a spirited display against a side two leagues above us, does this give you pride despite the loss?
DR: “I was more than proud of the lads for the performance and application Saturday. For large parts of the game we performed with bravery and played the football. Having said this Grantham were very good at what they did in terms of being direct and ultimately it was the difference. We defended superbly in the main and the lads followed the instructions we gave throughout the week well. Being critical we switched off for the first goal and the second header was great quality. The third came from us having a major shout for a pen in their box in the final minutes which would have given us the chance to level.”
Do you think if some of the decisions had gone our way it’d have been a different game?
“As people know I’m not one to call the officials as they have a tough job but anyone watching the game would be left scratching their heads to how they have kept 11 players on the pitch. On at least three occasions I have seen players being sent off for the incident with the second offence the man in the middle overruling the assistants view, who was 3 yards away, that it was a red card.”
We face Retford FC in the Vase next week, are you confident we can go far in that competition?
“The vase is a competition I’ve always enjoyed and had some good runs in both as a player and as a manager. The players are aware that this is a competition that is extremely important. We did well last year and want the same success.”
We have a strong side; do you share the faith the fans have that the results will come?
“If we had played the way we did Saturday in terms of defensive application at Handsworth and Livesedge we would have gained a minimum of four points. The players know the results should be different and it’s up to all of us to achieve the aims of the season. I’d like to thank the supporters again for a fantastic backing on Saturday, it’s makes a huge difference.”
