It was nice to meet and speak to several Norton United fans, who had come to support us.
That’s nice to hear TT. It was a shame what happened to Norton United but their loss, is hopefully our gain.
What happened to Norton, have they folded?
Yes
Barnton 1 Witton Albion 1
By Tom Smith
Kev Towey’s second half striker cancelled out Kyle Lycett’s early opener in a competitive pre-season game at Townfield.
Barnton welcomed near neighbours Witton Albion to Townfield on Saturday as both clubs continued their preparations for the 2015/16 season, when Witton will compete in the Evo Stik First Division North.
The Villagers were without the injured trio of skipper Colin Quirk, right back Andy Mawdsley and former Albion centre back Danny Meadowcroft, whilst wide men Danny Laverty and Chris Lomax were unavailable. Manager Leon Knight handed starts to Tony Wynne and Matty Rigby, whilst another former Witton man, Shaun Tuck, started on the bench.
A bright and lively game, Witton drew first blood on 9 minutes when a mix up from a Albion cross allowed the ball to fall to Kyle Lycett to fire home.
Witton were enjoying more of the ball, however Barnton were coping well and looked efficient and organised defensively. Tuck was brought on early and his free kick clipped the Witton bar, before Kev Towey went one on one with the keeper only to see his shot saved.
At the other end, Adam Judge did well to prevent a second goal, but could get nowhere near to a wonderful strike that thudded against the bar later on in the first half.
In the second half, Barnton made a few early changes and were on top of the game for large periods. Ryan Malone was looking bright and dangerous on the right and a re-shuffle in midfield saw Kev Durcan moved to right back where he was enjoying an excellent afternoon.
On 65 minutes, Barnton got their reward for some good football when Lloyd Dean’s intelligent flick found Towey, who controlled the ball and half volleyed home from just inside the Witton box.
The game ended 1-1 and both sides had a good afternoon’s work.
Barnton Manager Knight told us afterwards, "Thought the game was a good test for us, very competitive and was played at a good pace. Fitness wise we never had a problem which my me and my staff are happy about. The way set up and the way we played in patches was good, I think our two banks of four adapted well and done what we asked of them, including the subs who came on. Our forwards and wide men battled and worked hard but like I told them at full time they will be the difference for us this year and every chance we create we should hit the target, anything can happen.
We had a couple of chances and I though we could have won the game but this is all part of pre-season, tuning in and sharpening up. We are looking in good shape for August 8th."
Kyle Lycett? Does that mean we’ve signed Scott Diskin as well.