Swans lose out to determined Eccleshill United
7th October 2019| Barton Town | 1-3 | Eccleshill United | Att |
| Hinchliffe 29 | Ndlovu 7, Plummer og 66, Irving 73 | 172 |
Craig Denton’s reign as Barton Town manager began with a 3-1 loss to Eccleshill United at the Easy Buy Stadium.
Talent Ndlovu gave Eccleshill the lead before Ben Hinchliffe equalized before half time. However, an own goal from Matt Plummer and a Jon Irving goal sealed the three points for the visitors.
| # | Player |
| 1 | Sam Riches |
| 2 | Levi Tarbotton |
| 3 | Peter Winn |
| 4 | Tom Waudby |
| 5 | Matt Plummer |
| 6 | Ellis Barkworth 🔻Rogerson 83 |
| 7 | Tom Sawyer |
| 8 | Craig Disley (c) |
| 9 | Ben Hinchliffe ⚽ |
| 10 | Marc Cooper 🔻Moody 73 |
| 11 | Will Waudby ⭐ |
| 12 | Eddie Rogerson 🔺Barkworth 83 |
| 14 | Mitch Langton |
| 15 | Cameron Morfoot |
| 16 | Reece Moody 🔺Cooper 73 |
| 17 | Joe Busby |
First Half
It took the visitors from Bradford eight minutes to take the lead. A ball was floated in and Ndlovu was just inside the area. His strong header looped over Sam Riches in the Swans goal to put Eccleshill in front.
Barton were shaky, looked nervous in possession and struggled with ball retention. However, they managed to grow into the game. 16 minutes in Will Waudby played in a fantastic cross which met the head of Marc Cooper, but his header hit the roof of the net and the Swans remained scoreless.
But on the half hour mark Barton were level, and it was Hinchliffe, who produced a brilliant turn and shot low into the bottom corner. His 12th goal of the season brought the Swans level at the break.
Second Half
A largely quiet start to the second half, both sides were looking for the lead, and it took until 66 minutes for someone to score next.
Eccleshill were attacking, and looked arguably the stronger side, and when a stray ball was turned into his own net by Matt Plummer, the Swans heads dropped.
73 minutes in and the win was sealed for the visitors. Jon Irving ran in on goal, and his initial effort was saved by Riches, but the rebound fell straight to Irving who made no mistake to tap in.
Barton were handed a golden chance to make the final minutes more unnerving for Eccleshill in the form of a penalty. Hinchliffe stepped up but his low effort to the ‘keeper’s right was well saved. The Swans’ indifferent penalty form continues.
The visitors held on for the win, and on the balance of play it was deserved, as Barton will need time to adapt to the way Denton and his team are wanting them to play.
Lindsey Relay Man of the Match
