BARTON began 2012 in emphatic style, gaining their first win of the season with a 9-2 victory over Stratford.
Barton went into the fixture with a positive mindset, with January signing Adam Foster returning to the club to add more quality to the side.
They took a full-strength squad and were aiming to hit the ground running in a bid to climb the table into a safer position.
And as it turned out, a better start could not have been made as, from the whistle, Barton bossed the game in all areas, scoring their first goal inside two minutes.
A great team move was finished off by Mark Ashton-Blanksby, who grabbed himself a second later on in the game.
Barton’s second came moments later, with Will Rawbon getting on the scoresheet with a cool finish from close range.
The visitors could smell blood and were relentless in punishing Stratford’s defence with waves of attacks, with the midfield of Craig Tilke, Adam Foster, Sam Manning, Ashton-Blanksby and Jacob Foster controlling every move, while the defence of Jamie Foster, Mark Moore and skipper Jon Naseby (pictured) snuffed out any goal threats.
Barton continued the half in scoring fashion, grabbing four more goals.
Jacob Foster completed a superb firsthalf hat-trick by way of a short corner drag-flick and two tremendous strikes which gave the keeper no chance.
Another great team move ended with a clever deflected finish from forward Ash Parr.
The only minor slip-up was a long through ball which somehow made its way through Barton’s defence, giving Stratford their solitary goal of the half as Barton went in at the break 6-1 up.
The message at half-time from manager Jim Williams was simple — keep playing at the intensity of the first half and maintain composure on the ball.
Barton began the second half a little nervy, giving away possession through silly short passes, while the flowing hockey produced in the first half had evaded them a little.
This invited some unwanted pressure from Stratford, but Barton rode out their poor start to the second half without conceding and extended their lead through Ashton-Blanksby’s second goal of the game.
At this point, the opposition began to loose their cool, with the pace of Barton’s play beginning to take its toll, and some poor tackles were flying in.
The visitors’ forward line of Nathan Deacon, Rawbon, Parr and Luke Deacon continued to cause the Stratford defence problems, and they managed to force another short corner which was slipped for injector Tilke to smash the ball home for an 8-1 lead.
In the closing stages, Barton conceded a short-corner, which Stratford expertly put away to give them their second of the game.
However, minutes later, Barton counterattacked down their left and although an initial shot from Nathan Deacon was saved, Luke Deacon hit the rebound firsttime into the goal to complete the scoring.
This was a great first victory for Barton and a real boost in their quest to ensure their safety in ENER-G Midlands Division One.
This weekend sees them host Worcester at Shobnall, 2.30pm push-back.
BARTON’S 2nd and 4th team fixtures both fell victim to the harsh frost.
The 3rds’ scheduled game away at Coventry City and University 3rds is null and void after the home side’s withdrawal from the league during the mid-season break.
This weekend sees the 2nds, 3rds and 4ths all head north to face South Notts 2nds, Nottingham Players 3rds and Boots 5ths respectively.
