Swans seal win against Athersley
2nd December 2019| Barton Town | 4-3 | Athersley Recreation | Att |
| Cooper 4, 20 Hinchliffe, 12, 50 | Kelsey 31, 46, 62 pen | 140 |
Barton Town defeated Athersley Recreation in a thrilling 4-3 contest at the Easy Buy Stadium.
The Swans raced into a three goal lead thanks to two from Marc Cooper and Ben Hinchliffe, before Athersley pulled one back through Shane Kelsey. In the second half Athersley scored instantly before Hinchliffe grabbed another. Kelsey completed his hat-trick with a penalty to make for a nervy finish for Barton.
| # | Player |
| 1 | Sam RIches |
| 2 | Ellis Barkworth ⭐ |
| 3 | Robbie Start |
| 4 | Peter Winn 🔻Brettell 45 |
| 5 | Chris Salt |
| 6 | Matt Plummer |
| 7 | Adam Millson |
| 8 | Craig Disley (c) |
| 9 | Marc Cooper⚽⚽🔻Rogerson 75 |
| 10 | Waide Fairhurst |
| 11 | Ben Hinchliffe ⚽⚽ |
| 12 | Eddie Rogerson 🔺 Cooper 75 |
| 14 | Tom Waudby 🔺Brettell 69 |
| 15 | Aaron Brettell 🔺Winn 45 🔻Waudby 69 |
It took just four minutes for the Swans to take the lead. A corner was played in by Peter Winn and the Athersley defence failed to clear its lines. The ball fell to Cooper, who lashed it in to put The Swans in the lead.
12 minutes in the Swans doubled their lead. A fantastic lobbed ball by Waide Fairhurst teed up Hinchliffe. He slotted home for his 15th goal of the season. Barton looked comfortable against bottom of the table Athersley.
Moments later it could have been three, as Fairhurst rounded the keeper and shot at goal, his effort was cleared off the line by the Athersley defender. Two minutes later though it was three.
A cross in from Ellis Barkworth was met by the head of Cooper, whose looping header went in. Three goals up in 20 minutes and it looked to be a long day for the visitors.
Half an hour in Athersley managed to grab a lifeline. An under-hit back pass was ran onto by Kelsey. His shot lobbed the on-rushing Sam Riches and into the back of the net. This goal seemed to arrest the Swans onslaught.
Cooper had a couple more chances before half time to grab his hat-trick, but he couldn’t quite find the right chance.
Seconds after the break Kelsey grabbed his second. He managed to waltz his way around the Barton defence and slotted it past Riches to make for a nervy start to the second half for the Swans.
Thankfully for the Swans they restored their two goal lead. The ball fell to Hinchliffe on the edge of the area, whose fine low drive into the bottom corner made it 4-2.
On the hour Athersley halved the lead when Riches conceded a penalty. He was booked and Kelsey sealed his hat-trick. Riches got a hand to the penalty but it went in, setting up a nervous finish for Craig Denton’s side. The Swans had looked so comfortable in the early exchanges but now were fighting for the win.
Athersley struggled to find the equaliser and the Swans held on for the win. The win was the important thing.
