Barum win 7 goal thriller

Opening day away win

It was a perfect start to the BetVictor Division One South campaign for Barum, who beat Basingstoke Town 4-3 on Saturday. Barnstaple only won two games on the road last season, with both coming in November 2018. Saturday's win was Harper-Penman's first away win in charge of the club.

The Barnstaple manager was pleased to get the new season off on the right foot." It was good, all the boys worked very, very hard and stuck to the game plan we set," said Harper-Penman. "They worked for each other which was massive and helped us get the result.

"To get that first win is massive, especially in a league that we know is going to be tough. "Everyone wants to get a win on the first day of the season. It sets you up and gives you confidence. "The players loved it after the game and it was a great bus home."

Another thing to please the Barnstaple boss was the four goals from four different players. Brian Levien, Liam Short, Theo Simpson and Tornado Bello all found the target as the visitors recovered from 1-0 down. A pleasing sign for a side that struggled to find the back of the net for periods last season.

"To score four, have four different scorers and get three points away from home - that's massive," said Harper-Penman. "To do that, the boys collectively were very good and worked hard for each other, and that's the biggest thing.

"We're going to need that to get points in this league.

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