BARNTON fell to a narrow opening day defeat after a second half strike from William Calligan was enough to give Stockport Town all three points at Townfield Lane.

The visitors dominated the early phases but were unable to find a way through a determined Barnton backline, but Liam Page’s men carried a threat on the break and almost went ahead against the run of play with Tom Edwards going close.

Moments later Edwards found himself in trouble after a late foul earned him a yellow card.

William Shawcross struck the woodwork for Town after linking up with Scott McGowen, and Kevin Foley then went close with effort from distance as the visitors ended the half on top.

The second half saw Stockport again dominate the play and it took an excellent finish from Calligan to break the deadlock as he emphatically finished off a well worked team move.

Moments later Calligan almost doubled the lead but saw his effort drag just wide.

Barnton had a serious call for a penalty turned down late on as they pushed for a leveller, but ultimately, they were unable to cause the experienced Stockport Town backline any serious issues.

The visitors held out and ensured they picked up all three points at Townfield Lane.

Speaking after the game Barnton manager Page was philosophical.

“We huffed and puffed but at the end of the day we were not good enough against a very good Stockport side,” he said.

“We carried a threat on the break and were defensively sound and that is one positive as a few years ago we would’ve fallen away as the game wore on.”

Next up for the Villagers is a home game against Brocton on Saturday afternoon with kick off at 3pm at Townfield Lane.

Barnton: Lyons, Ball (Hutchins), Dwyer (Duffy), Avon, Scoular, Jones, Mercer (Holmes), Kennington, Sample, Tom Edwards (Lewis Edwards), Levey. Unused Sub: Garbutt

Attendance: 73