Barrow v Stockport County, match thread

[Methuselah]

I thought we were cheated out of our third goal by Stockport.Their player went down after our goal had gone in and the referee fell for it.Apparently their manager had a go at the ref at half. time.Their players were going down every time they got tackled and the ref fell for it every time.I couldn,t believe the amount of free kicks they were awarded.Aqua was pulled down and he just waved him away .I,d love to watch the replay to see how many of the decisions he got wrong.It was almost as though Stockport were willing to cheat as long as they got the result they wanted which unfortunately for them they didn,t.Roll on Friday.Here's hoping for another win against Accrington.and then onto Wrexham on New Years Day.Onwards and Upwards.

[saltcellar]

500 away fans would be fine from the South, but from Stockport and the run they're on is poor. It's not even necessarily how close it is, but the fact that they bang on about their incredible support etc makes it embarrassing. County were just as poor as their fans for 40 mins until a gk mistake. We responded well late on and really should have the 3 points with Acquahs chances and the dreadful disallowed goal. No wonder Pete was angry. Top effort from the Barrow fans and the display. Next rime just give them the Holker end bottom corner and we'll fill the new away stand.

Goalkeeper mistake?
Not much most keepers can do when it deflcts the other way to which they are going.

[spirit of 1990]

If them four officials are the best they can offer up for a top of the table clash then it’s simply embarrassing.

A lot like last season at their spot, we dominated the first half and they moved up a few gears the second half. A fantastic save by Hinchcliffe in the second 45 and a pretty decent one by Farman as well.

Would’ve snapped your hand off at 3:00pm for a point but I think we were let down massively by some terrible officiating.

Fantastic attendance but I was very surprised Stockport never sold their full allocation.

[Jim]

If them four officials are the best they can offer up for a top of the table clash then it’s simply embarrassing.

I seem to remember that Martin Coy has been criticised by Barrow fans in the past. He suddenly went card happy in the second half as if he had left his cards in the dressing room for the first half.

[Main Stand SeasonTct]

If them four officials are the best they can offer up for a top of the table clash then it’s simply embarrassing.

A lot like last season at their spot, we dominated the first half and they moved up a few gears the second half. A fantastic save by Hinchcliffe in the second 45 and a pretty decent one by Farman as well.

Would’ve snapped your hand off at 3:00pm for a point but I think we were let down massively by some terrible officiating.

Fantastic attendance but I was very surprised Stockport never sold their full allocation.

The officials were poor for both teams. Looking at a freeze frame on the Stockport message board Whitfield looked offside from Spnces pass/shot. I think we got away with one there.

[David881]

Fantastic game which could have gone either way. A great advert for L2 football. Unbeaten in eight now. Need to keep going to the end of the season and see where we finish. We have a great team.

[saltcellar]

Fantastic game which could have gone either way. A great advert for L2 football. Unbeaten in eight now. Need to keep going to the end of the season and see where we finish. We have a great team.

Unbeaten in 13 not 8 games.

[Jonty]

Unlucky lads. End to end at 2-2 and perhaps we had the best chances to win it but a point probably fair on the balance of play. Will have to see the rerun of the disallowed goal. As others have said would have settled for a draw before the game.
Biggest home crowd for a league game since the late 60's. Brilliant.

[SayitagainSam]

5866 attendance think of how many lads are on life bans , clubs bans and national banning orders. Easy 6k would be there. We are slowly growing into the league club we should be.

Supporters who abandoned the Club years ago when we dropped into the Minor Leagues are slowly but surely returning now we're back in the Football League and doing well - the pensioner sitting next to me said he last attended a game 30 years ago - hence the increased attendances.

[Cromwell58]

Thanks for those who arranged the display, a lot of effort and thought had gone it to it we need to try and get that passion every game till end of season.

[blue nige]

If them four officials are the best they can offer up for a top of the table clash then it’s simply embarrassing.

A lot like last season at their spot, we dominated the first half and they moved up a few gears the second half. A fantastic save by Hinchcliffe in the second 45 and a pretty decent one by Farman as well.

Would’ve snapped your hand off at 3:00pm for a point but I think we were let down massively by some terrible officiating.

Fantastic attendance but I was very surprised Stockport never sold their full allocation.

The officials were poor for both teams. Looking at a freeze frame on the Stockport message board Whitfield looked offside from Spnces pass/shot. I think we got away with one there.

Are they also showing Ray getting pulled down in the penalty area ? Think THEY got away with one as well!

[Barrow Lad New]

An entertaining 2-2 draw between the top two teams. Chasers Wrexham, Mansfield and Notts County all won, the first two pushing us back down to fourth.

However, there are lots of pluses to take out of today. The first was a superb crowd of 5,866 (including 577 from Stockport) who witnessed League 2 football at its best. The second was a brilliant first half Barrow performance with two superbly taken goals until Stockport were forced into changes, two being hooked in the 42nd minute and a further two at half time. Unfortunately, we conceded in added time at the end of the first half following the first changes. The third was some superb defending and goalkeeping when the revitalised Stockport team lanced a wave of incisive attacks in the second half. The fourth was no sign of panic when we went behind with thoughtful and accurate passing out of danger, setting up Barrow counters enabling us to finish the game with a few more close chances.

In the end a draw was a fair result. Both teams could have scored more, and we had been denied a strong penalty shout in the 43rd minute from a free kick straight after the first Stockport changes. If that had been given, and we had scored, Stockport would have had a 3-0 mountain to climb.

It took exactly a minute from kick-off for Ben Whitfield to find the net from a Spence cross, sending the large crowd into raptures.

In the 14th minute Whitfield had another shot, from a Telford cross, turned out by Hinchcliffe for a corner. From the corner, Ray shot just wide. At this stage, the whole Barrow team seemed faster and more alert than Stockport, Whitfield especially giving problems down the right wing.

In the 24th minute, Spence made it two, superbly running onto a pinpoint accurate Whitfield cross from the left, tapping in from close range.

In the 36th minute, Stockport won a couple of corners but these were easily dealt with and it was evident changes were needed, Byrne and Croasdale being hooked in the 42nd minute and replaced by Powell and Richardson. Whitfield’s free kick following a foul on Gotts caused mayhem in the area for Stockport’s defenders, but shouts from Barrow fans and players for a penalty were turned down.

With a chance to go 3-0 up denied, we also saw the visitors starting to press after the substitutions. Four minutes of time added were announced and, in the second of these, a 20 yard power shot from the right by one of the substitutes, Powell, flew past Farman into the left corner.

At half time, Stockport’s manager replaced Olaofe and Knoyle with Madden and Wright. Making four pairs of fresh legs with Barrow’s starting eleven all on the pitch. Inevitably, we were more under the cosh from that point, the game becoming more intense and occasionally heated.

In the 54th minute, Farman superbly tipped a 25 yard power shot from Bailey over the bar. However from Bailey’s corner, another of Stockport’s substitutes, Wright, headed in.

After the equaliser, we made two changes, Foley and Acquah coming on for Gotts and Telford.

We also had to ride out a few harsh decisions, a free kick from a highly debatable Barrow handball in the 56th minute having to be scrambled away by Farman.

In the 62nd minute was a clash of heads between Foley and Camps, the Barrow player being harshly booked.

The final half hour saw much valiant Barrow defending and also some more Barrow forays, setting up an end-to-end climax. White replaced Campbell in the 66th minute and a minute later Ray put his body on the line to block a goal bound Stockport shot.

In the 70th minute, Hinchcliffe blocked a Spence shot following good work by Acquah. Four minutes later, Feely and Garner came on for Stephenson and Whitfield.

In the 79th minute, a shot from Acquah was saved following a Garner cross. A minute later, Spence shot just wide of the left post. In the 83rd minute a Barrow shot saw the ball in the net following a corner but the “goal” was disallowed for a foul. In the 87th minute a Foley shot was saved.

Six minutes of injury time showed we had ridden out the storm and finished strongly with a free kick and corner, but were denied a winner. Overall, a fine performance which shows again that we are in the promotion places on merit.

[LCBAFC40]

Thought head injuries were mandatory to go off for at least 30 seconds or is that in in league 2 ? Player was NOT injured and got up as soon as ref blew for a foul. Another joke official who would give a foul for a 6ft player throwing themselves to the floor when Gotts jumps with them yet Acquah was repeatedly pulled down and nothing. Countys 1st goal was so poor right on 1/2 time - no closing down, poor attempt at a tackle, then looked like a deflection. Spence had a great effort go just wide, Acquah had 2 great chances which he went with on his right foot and had no power in either shot. Then the No goal ! 2 points dropped but still unbeaten

I didn't think there was a lot wrong for your disallowed goal but there were a lot of bodies in the box so it was hard to tell what had gone on. Initially I thought it was a great strike from your lad & we got lucky with the decision. That said, Whitfield's goal is up on twitter & it looks like he stepped off the pitch for a second before re-entering to tap it in so we could argue he was offside & that shouldn't of been given. The ref's bad decisions seemed to be evenly split between the two sides today.

We should just get used to these decisions and be thankful we don't have VAR

[Cokey]

Thanks for those who arranged the display, a lot of effort and thought had gone it to it we need to try and get that passion every game till end of season.

+1 It was absolutely fantastic.

Thought the effort from the team was absolutely immense. I don’t feel gutted, just proud of them, all of them. We go again on Friday night, let’s add another 3 points to the board.

[Bombadel]

Lots of arrogant comments on Stockport forums - as you'd expect with a club that is a "loadofmoney" one now. Pathetic really as I seem to remember them playing National League North against us not that long ago. Some offended we criticised those hardy 500 who braved the treacherous trek north to see the game. So much for packing out the away end, whinging on about restricted views etc etc. Ever been in the away end at Anfield? Happens at the very top clubs. How dare Barrow even mix it with the so called L2 big boys eh. They also assume we will run out of steam like the Halifax Wild teams did. We shall see. Lets see if loadofmoney Stockport run out of steam - now that would be embarrassing wouldn't it.

Any team wanting to take points off us, are never going to write anything positive, just don’t get why you’d read their forum, or what it brings to the table.