Swans fall to defeat against Maltby
4th March 2020| Barton Town | 0-2 | Maltby Main | Att |
| Liversidge 74 Algar 78 | 125 |
Barton Town fell to a 2-0 defeat at home to Maltby Main at the Easy Buy Stadium.
After a goalless first half which the hosts edged, Maltby came out fighting second half and scored two goals in five minutes through Sam Liversidge and Ben Algar. It’s only the third time this season the Swans have failed to score in a game.
Ben Hinchliffe joined the growing list of injured players, with Noel Burdett returning to the squad and was among the substitutes. The bench also included three reserve team players, Kian Salter, Bryn Everitt and Luke Kershaw.
| # | Player |
| 1 | Sam RIches |
| 2 | Ellis Barkworth 🔻Salter 83 |
| 3 | Matt Plummer 🟡 |
| 4 | Adam Millson |
| 5 | Taron Hare |
| 6 | Callum Walmsley 🟡 |
| 7 | Josh Baker 🔻Burdett 67 |
| 8 | Jack Richardson ⭐ |
| 9 | Jack McMenemy |
| 10 | Danny North |
| 11 | Waide Fairhurst (c) 🔻Kershaw 87 |
| 12 | Kian Salter 🔺Barkworth 83 |
| 14 | Noel Burdett 🔺Baker 67 |
| 15 | Bryn Everitt |
| 16 | Luke Kershaw 🔺Fairhurst 87 |
| 17 | James Humphreys |
It was another timid first half, with Barton arguably being the better side. However the first chance fell to Maltby, and it was a half chance. A cross was whipped in but the wind took it towards the goal. Sam Riches tipped it away but it could easily have caught out the Swans stopper.
17 minutes in and Barton registered their first chance on goal. Matt Plummer did well to block a defensive clearance and run on to it, he played the ball in to Danny North on the edge of the area but his effort was saved by Pollard in the Maltby goal and cleared away.
Four minutes later North had another chance to break the deadlock. Jack McMenemy played a nice ball into the area and North’s header went just over from around 12 yards out.
Shortly before half time a Maltby defender mishit his clearance and Waide Fairhurst ran onto it, the defender redeemed himself by blocking the ball out for a corner.
Maltby were still in the game, and almost punished Barton for not taking their chances when they won a free kick around 25 yards out. It tapped the top of the crossbar and went out for a goal kick.
Maltby came out the better side for the second half, as Barton’s tiring legs were getting worse. Ten minutes into the second half and the visitors had the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled out for offside.
Just past the hour mark Maltby hit the post with a nicely taken effort and then forced a nice save from Riches. The Swans were defending resiliently but how long could they hold out?
Noel Burdett was introduced in place of Josh Baker and looked to make an impact. Ellis Barkworth was next to try and score but his venomous shot was deflected over for a corner.
15 minutes from the end however Maltby finally made their perseverance pay off as Sam Liversidge took a touch in the area and powered the ball past Riches.
A few minutes later the win was confirmed as Riches made a good initial save but the rebound was tapped in by Ben Algar.
Barton had one final chance to make the game interesting. Noel Burdett’s free kick from the edge of the area was curled over the wall and almost in the back of the net, but the keeper saved it well.
Kian Salter and Luke Kershaw were introduced towards the end but Barton fell to another defeat.
