By Match report: Barton Town record comeback victory against Silsden
Barton Town came from behind to beat Silsden at home despite treacherous conditions last night.
Goals from Ben Hinchliffe and Danny North were enough to earn the Swans a 2-1 victory in the swirling wind and relentless rain at the Easy Buy Stadium.
A depleted Barton side due to injuries and suspensions meant Kadey Phillips was given his first start, with Craig King, Grant Tait, Fraser Papprill, Scott Matthews, Harrison Coley, Sam Cable and Jon Oglesby all unavailable.
The Swans had the best of the early exchanges, as Ben Hinchliffe was played in on goal, but the Silsden goalkeeper pulled off the first of a string of excellent saves throughout the game.
Seconds later Hinchliffe crossed the ball into North, who couldn’t quite get a good enough connection on the ball and it was cleared away from danger.
Silsden took the lead against the run of play with 10 minutes on the clock after Mark Hoban’s strike from the edge of the area was parried by Ryan Musselwhite into the path of Joe Crosby, who gratefully tapped the ball into the net to give the visitors the lead.
The rest of the half saw the Swans fighting to get back into the contest, with Hinchliffe’s shot well saved by Hagie Damba in the visitors’ goal.
After a period of little action due to the rain, the hosts were level moments before the break. Matt Clayton crossed in from the right and, after North scuffed his shot, Hinchliffe took a touch and struck a low effort under Damba into the back of the net.
The second half saw the Swans come out the stronger side despite continuing to battle against the wind and rain.
On the hour mark, substitute Kian Salter almost scored when he headed over from the edge of the area. This came moments before Tom Waudby, hunting down his 20th goal of the season, struck an effort over the bar.
Midway through the second half a through ball reached North, who prodded it past Damba and slotted the ball into an empty net to complete the turnaround and give the Swans the lead.
Damba was then called into action shortly after that, as he first saved Hinchliffe’s shot and then the keeper acrobatically kept out Salter’s follow-up effort.
With five minutes left to play, Ryan Musselwhite was forced into a fantastic save when Silsden went through on goal on the counter, helping the Swans earn a big win.
Match report by Aaron Irwin
