Barry go down fighting

Barry Town "gave it their best shot" against Boavista

Boavista 2 - 0 Barry Town

Barry Town put up a brave fight in the first leg of their Uefa Cup qualifying round match before losing by two goals to nil to Boavista.

Goals from Brazilians Silva and Rogerio in the first half ensured that the League of Wales outfit will face a difficult task in the return leg at Jenner Park.

Barry Town had to defend deep for most of the match, as they struggled against the pace and aggression of the Portuguese side.

It was a measure of their success in defence, however, that Boavista only managed two shots on goal in the first half.

Unfortunately for Barry, those two shots produced goals - the first a powerful header from Silva on 21 minutes, the second a scrambled effort towards the end of the half.

  Boavista's goals

21 mins Silva

40 mins Rogerio

From then on, it was damage limitation for Barry, which they managed with the help of the post and the crossbar and some fine saves from goalkeeper Lee Kendall.

Speaking after the game, Barry Town manager Peter Nicholas was happy with his side's performance.

"I think two - nil against the third or fourth best side in Portugal is a good result," he said.

"We came to frustrate Boavista, which we managed. But they are a very good side.

If we can get an early goal in the second leg, we will have half a chance

  Barry Town manager Peter Nicholas

"Overall I'm very pleased with our performance."

Second leg

Despite chasing the match for most of the first leg, Nicholas believes that there could be life in this Uefa Cup tie yet.

"If we can get an early goal in the second leg, we will have half a chance," he said.

"There's no getting away from it. It will be a difficult game, but at least the players can smile after tonight.

"We've given ourselves a chance."