Swans concede late penalty to fall to draw
16th December 2019| Knaresborough Town | 1-1 | Barton Town | Att |
| Thirkell 88 pen | Hinchliffe 27 | 126 |
Barton Town conceded a late equalizer to bring home a draw from Knaresborough Town.
The Swans led for the majority of the game through Ben Hinchliffe’s 17th goal of the season midway through the first half. However a late penalty was given and Dan Thirkell scored for the hosts resulting in a 1-1 draw.
With only 13 players at his disposal, with Matt Plummer, Noel Burdett and Pete Winn all missing through illness, boss Craig Denton gave a debut to Stephen Cooper at centre half.
| # | Player |
| 1 | Sam Riches |
| 2 | Ellis Barkworth |
| 3 | Robbie Start |
| 4 | Stephen Cooper |
| 5 | Chris Salt 🟡 |
| 6 | Taron Hare |
| 7 | Adam Millson 🔻Richardson 69 |
| 8 | Craig Disley (c) |
| 9 | Marc Cooper 🔻Rogerson 75 |
| 10 | Waide Fairhurst |
| 11 | Ben Hinchliffe ⚽⭐ |
| 12 | Jack Richardson 🔺Millson 69 |
| 14 | Eddie Rogerson 🔺Cooper 75 |
In the hail shower which came down just after kick off, both sides were fighting the conditions to try and get a foothold in the game. This meant chances were at a premium.
After 12 minutes Knaresborough had the ball in the back of the net, but it was ruled out as the linesman had his flag up for offside in the build-up.
Both sides had half chances, Hinchliffe put in a few crosses which were either caught by the ‘keeper or went out for a corner. However Hinchliffe would give Barton the lead on 27 minutes.
There was a supposed push on a Knaresborough defender in the build-up by Waide Fairhurst but not given by the referee. Fairhurst powered on and played in Hinchliffe, who slotted past the ‘keeper with a neat finish to put Barton in front.
Knaresborough seemed fired up by the opener and started to dominate the game. In the closing minutes of the first half they were having all the pressure and peppered the Swans goal with efforts. All were dealt with by Sam Riches or our resolute defending.
The second half was a scrappy affair, with the weather making things difficult. On the hour Knaresborough almost equalized with Brad Walker heading over from close range.
Jack Richardson and Eddie Rogerson were introduced in place of Adam Millson and Marc Cooper to try and keep out the Knaresborough onslaught.
77 minutes in and Barton had a golden opportunity to double the lead. The ball cannoned off the crossbar after a fantastic shot. It fell to Hinchliffe whose shot was deflected out for a corner. The Swans were made to pay for missing the chance.
As the weather worsened the Swans looked nervous in possession, and allowed Knaresborough to keep attacking the goal. Two minutes from time their perseverance was rewarded with a penalty.
Dan Thirkell stepped up and calmly placed the ball home to earn Knaresborough a point. Arguably the point was deserved given how much pressure they had put Barton under.
It’s a case of two points dropped for Barton but the unbeaten run is stretched to five games.
