10-man Barwell bow out of the Integro League Cup

TEN-MAN Barwell bow out of the Integro League Cup, writes Oli Osborne.

Barwell have been knocked out of the Integro League Cup following defeat at home to Stourbridge.

The Canaries fell behind through Lewis Probert before a Drew Canavan free-kick doubled the visitors’ advantage soon after.

Joe Ballinger saw red just before the final goal for a professional foul as Barwell suffered defeat at the hands of Stourbridge for the second time in eight days.

Jimmy Ginnelly’s side made an encouraging start, with full-back Eddy Nisevic forcing Ash Malhotra into an excellent save after cutting inside and firing an effort towards the top corner.

The much-changed away side took the lead inside 20 minutes. A swift breakaway saw Canavan pick out Probert at the far post for a simple tap-in.

Things got worse for Barwell as Jordan Archer raced away on goal and was brought down by last man Ballinger, who was dismissed for the foul.

From the resulting free-kick, Canavan went from creator to goalscorer, firing the set-piece into the roof of the net from 25 yards out.

With the man disadvantage, the hosts struggled to create clear-cut chances to find a route back into the match.

Brady Hickey’s strike over the crossbar was one of few first-half highlights for the side.

As Barwell began to throw more men forward and take extra risks following the interval, the Glassboys looked to extend their advantage.

Max Smith-Varnam returned between the sticks and produced several important saves to keep the deficit to two.

With the final chance of the match for the Canaries, Owen Story’s early cross found an unmarked Nisevic, who shifted onto his right and saw his low effort cannon back off the base of the post.