Barry Town United continued their promising JD Cymru Premier campaign with a 2-1 victory at Flint Town United last weekend, but the game also had extra significance for Ollie Hulbert as it marked his 50th appearance for the Linnets.
Now in his second season at the club, the 21-year-old has turned in a number of eye-catching performances with a series of clinical finishes firing him to the top of the league’s goalscoring charts.
Not since Eifion Williams’ 28-goal haul in the 1998/99 season has a Barry Town United player won the Golden Boot award, but a tally of 8 goals in 11 games has seen Hulbert emerge as an early contender. The striker insists life at Jenner Park is helping him produce his best form.
“I’ve loved every minute,” said Hulbert on his time at the club. “Away from the football aspect, I think the club is brilliant in terms of the people that work for it, the community work that they do and it’s a really nice place to play football and I think that shows with what I’ve been doing on the pitch.”
Barry Town United aren’t Hulbert’s first experience of the JD Cymru Premier, after he briefly played for Cardiff Met on loan from Bristol Rovers. Further loan spells and a permanent move to Yeovil Town followed, but it didn’t take long for Hulbert to make his mind up when the opportunity to return to the JD Cymru Premier came calling.
“I got released from Yeovil and at the time Daf Williams was the assistant at Barry, and I as soon as I spoke to him I wanted to come back, especially with a club like Barry with such a good history,” he explained.
“As everyone knows, it’s a league that’s growing really well. It’s getting more attention each season, especially now, looking at TNS and what they’re doing in Europe, more eyes are starting to look at it and it’s gaining more credibility.”
With the league gaining credibility, so too is Barry Town United’s current striker partnership. Hulbert and fellow striker Sam Snaith have enjoyed a productive campaign in front of goal to date with the pair combining for 13 of Barry Town United’s 21 league goals this season. The team are sitting well-placed in fifth-spot ahead of Saturday’s visit of The New Saints to Jenner Park.
“Since Sam and I have started playing together we’ve really understood how each other’s games work,” said Hulbert. “I think he does things that are maybe weaker in my game and vice-versa. I think the more we play together, the more it’s going to improve and we’ll continue to score goals.
“From the start of the pre-season, the aim was to finish in the top-six. I think if we continue what we’re doing, we’ll be able to do that. We had such a big turnover of players, it took us a while but with our recent run of form, I think we’re getting stronger and stronger and who knows where we could finish.
“To qualify for Europe would be huge, they’ve done it before. Getting back into Europe would pull in bigger crowds and help grow the club. I think that’s the main aim and I think it’s more than possible at a club like Barry.”
