Swans defeat Silsden in rain-filled night

Barton Town came back from a goal down to defeat Silsden in a night of horrendous conditions at the Easy Buy Stadium.

Swirling wind and rain throughout meant it was a matter of who could cope best with the conditions. Silsden took an early lead through Joseph Crosby before Ben Hinchliffe equalized shortly before the break. The second half saw the Swans on top and Danny North’s excellent goal sealed the win for the resilient Swans.

A depleted Swans side due to injuries and suspensions meant Kadey Phillips was given his first start in the first team. Craig King, Grant Tait, Fraser Papprill, Scott Matthews, Harrison Coley, Sam Cable and Jon Oglesby were all unavailable.

The Swans had the best of the early proceedings, with Ben Hinchliffe played in but the Silsden goalkeeper pulled off the first of a string of excellent saves through the game. Seconds later Hinchliffe crossed it to Danny North but the striker couldn’t get a good connection on the ball, which was then cleared.

Ten minutes in and Silsden took the lead against the run of play. Mark Hoban’s strike from the edge of the area was parried by Ryan Musselwhite into the path of Joe Crosby, who gratefully tapped it in to give the visitors the lead.

The rest of the half saw the Swans fighting to get back into the game. Midway through the half Tom Waudby headed the ball back across the area but Hinchliffe’s shot was well saved by Hagie Damba in the Silsden goal.

After a period of little action due to the rain, the Swans were level moments before the break. Matt Clayton crossed in from the right. North scuffed his shot before Hinchliffe took a took before striking low under Damba and into the back of the net.

The second half saw the Swans come out the stronger side, with the rain and wind only getting stronger. Kian Salter was introduced in place of Henry Parr, who was on a booking.

On the hour mark Salter almost scored when he headed it over from the edge of the area. This came moments before Tom Waudby, hunting down his 20th goal of the season, struck over the bar.

Midway through the second half a through ball was ran onto by North, who prodded it past Damba and slotted into an empty net to give the Swans the lead.

Damba was then called into action again as Hinchliffe was played in, but his shot was saved, before Salter’s follow-up effort was acrobatically denied by Damba.

Five minutes before time and Ryan Musselwhite was forced into a fantastic save when Silsden were through on goal on the counter.

The Swans held on for a big win, with two games left and the Swans locked in for a seventh placed finish, it’s a case of two more games to play.