The clubhouse at Jenner Park was as packed as social distancing permitted but the images on the big screens testified to the difficulty of the task facing Barry Town United against NSI Runavik in the Faroe Islands last night.
Grey rectangles dotted the clubhouse as fans tried to work out what was going on in the Europa League preliminary round tie in a very foggy Toftir.
The Dragons appeared to cope reasonably well with the awful conditions during a goalless first half, but Klaemint Olsen’s hat-trick after the break put Runavik in complete control.
Barry boss Gavin Chesterfield was able to field the likes of former Wales forward David Cotterill and ex-Newport County striker Nat Jarvis up front but Runavik, comfortable playing in the atrocious conditions, had by far the sharper cutting edge.
Olsen scored twice in 11 minutes early in the second period and Petur Knudsen made it 3-0, before Olsen struck his third to leave the contest way beyond Barry’s reach.
Steffan Lokin added to the Welsh side’s misery, but Kayne McLaggon did apparently grab a late consolation goal with two minutes to go… although it was one many Barry supporters will have missed due to the mist shrouding the stadium.
Barry were playing competitively for the first time since 6 March, while Runavik are well into the 2020-21 Faroe Islands Premier League season.
The Faroe Islanders now face Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen at Pittodrie Stadium in the first qualifying round next week, when Bala Town enter the competition against Maltese-side Valletta away and Cymru Premier runners-up The New Saints are at home to Slovakian side MSK Zilina.
Europa League Fixtures
First Qualifying Round
27 August: TNS v MSK Zilina (Park Hall); Valletta v Bala Town (Centenary Stadium, Ta’Qali)
