Barnard strike earns vital point

LEE Barnard’s second-half goal secured Athletic a valuable point in the fight against the drop at promotion-chasing Swindon.

After a scoreless first half, the on-loan striker neatly flicked home after good approach work from Lee Croft to hand the visitors an unexpected lead at the County Ground.

It was Southampton striker Barnard’s third goal of his spell with the Boundary Park club – and it gave Lee Johnson’s men a sight of all three points.

Only three minutes later, though, Swindon substitute Adam Rooney did a passable impression of his namesake Wayne by volleying home a brilliant overhead kick to level matters.

And while after that it was one-way traffic, with Dean Bouzanis’s goal leading a charmed life, Athletic held on to bring home a point which lifts spirits ahead of the crunch home game with Colchester on Easter Monday.

The home side were firmly in the ascendancy early on and went close to scoring on a number of occasions.

Andy Williams curled a 25-yard shot a foot wide of Bouzanis’s right-hand post with the Athletic goalkeeper well beaten and Gary Roberts struck an upright and could only watch as the ball trickled across an unguarded goal.

Johnson’s visitors grew into a scrappy contest, though, going closest themselves in the first period when Robbie Simpson’s dug-out low drive passed a couple of yards wide.

Williams hit a shot wide of goal when well-placed early in the second half and after both sides had found the net, Swindon were the likelier of the two sides to net a second.

Rooney and James Collins both went mighty close to claiming the victory for Kevin McDonald’s men as shots rained in on Athletic’s goal with worrying regularity as the clock ticked down, but in the end the visitors were able to celebrate a hard-earned draw.



Swindon: Foderingham, Flint, Thompson (Byrne 55), Ward, Navarro, Ferry, Roberts (A Rooney 65), McCormack, Luongo, Parrett, Williams (Collins 65). Subs not used: Bedwell, Devera, Thompson, De Vita.

Goal: A Rooney, 71.



Athletic: Bouzanis; Brown, Mvoto, Tarkowski, Grounds; Wesolowski ©, K Smith; Croft (Montano 72), Baxter, Simpson (Iwelumo 76); Barnard (M Smith 76). Subs not used: Cisak, Byrne, Obita, Reid.

Goal: Barnard, 68.



Referee: Andy Madley.


Star man: Jean-Yves Mvoto