Barrow v MK Dons, match thread

[Fazered]

Really good watch tonight. MK played very well 1st half but we fought back for a great result. Special mentions for Cameron and Pressley but everyone played well Happy Days

[andyg]

Brilliant stuff and to come from behind lakes it even better.

[BarrowLad71]

Proper Barrow performance and great win. Took our chances , rode our luck but overall absolutely faultless victory.

Dan Crowley is some player for MK though! And MK fans must’ve been thinking how did they let MJ Williams go!

[blue nige]

A master class from Barrow, brilliant in how to totally frustrated a very talented team, Yeah we rode our luck at times but we deserved that ,Cameron I've slagged him off but tonight he repaid the Managers faith in him !Robbie Gotts unbelievable, another great goal from Kian and Williams what a good player he his ,the highlight of the night Sam Foley dancing through at least 3 of their team fantastic!

[HenneysKnee]

Dan Crowley is some player for MK Dons

He was first half; once Whing had told Gotts just to track him second half they barely created a chance despite all the possession; Gottys probably still following him down the motorway!

Great win tonight; it’s real enjoyable stuff again at the moment. I really hope somehow we can keep Spence and Whitfield here next season

[behind the goals]

Brilliant win tonight and after Grimsby & Gillingham being labelled poor sides no one can dispute we beat a decent side tonight, after MK Don's took the lead I was feeling another Doncaster score line was on the cards, Whing certainly has them battling for every ball, never a foul by Acquah that was really poor from the ref, again shows all these match stats mean nothing, we'll done tonight and a great 3pts.

[spirit of 1990]

Dan Crowley is some player for MK Dons

He was first half; once Whing had told Gotts just to track him second half they barely created a chance despite all the possession; Gottys probably still following him down the motorway!

I was really worried about Crowley, we seemed to take too long realising how to stop him but as soon as that second half started he was pretty much out of it, well done Gottsy. He’s some player though, their number 10 was impressive as well.

So happy for Cameron, he came into a struggling team & made a couple of howlers but hopefully he’s now turned it around and can become a big part of the squad. Kian and Emile look different players from a month ago and Ben W…..started where he left off last season.

That was a very decent team we beat tonight….better than a mid-table outfit.

We have the makings of a good team for next season….in L2

[Mark Johnson]

They were an excellent team in possession but not great out of it .. Crowley cut above. One of the most technically gifted players I have seen in league 2 since our return.

Good to see some grit from us. We stood up to a lot of what they threw at us and were quite effective with the possession we had with some quick transitions.

We are as good as safe now surely

[ossickbluebird]

A great win against a quality passing team tonight but just proves it's goals not possession that wins you games. Not seen the team work as hard for a quite a while, you can clearly see AW has instilled in them that's a given. Whilst applauding the lads off I watched every player give Cameron a prolonged embrace, good to see, no-one makes mistakes on purpose. Only 11 points off the play-offs now

[Bakewell Blue]

Only listening, fantastic but so tense - always felt there was another goal in it even at 2-1. We have obviously had some stand-out individual performances in the last 2 games, but what has struck me is that we haven’t had any poor ones, with the whole team playing well. The new manager has really got them playing as a team. Amazing how close we are to the top half, only 3 points below Colchester in 11th and 5 below Chesterfield in 10th. Winning 3 and losing 2 collects points quickly as compared to “safe” draws, but it shreds the nerves!

[Barrow Lad New]

A superb battling performance overcame an early fast breakaway set-back to level within two minutes and then kept Mk Dons’ fast attacking force at bay for most of the match. The icing on the cake was another brilliant cross and close-range finish for what turned out to be the winner.

We now have 37 points, consolidating our 18th position, and are now within three points of the top half of the table. Like on Saturday, all the teams below us again fared worse tonight; Carlisle and Accrington lost while Gillingham and Tranmere drew.

The crowd was a lower 2,783 including 136 visitors, possibly the chilly evening or the fact this was a fixture re-arranged from 7th December. It was not in my diary and I only learned about tonight’s fixture last Saturday! I remember gale force winds called it off at 10.00 on that December morning, finding out at the same time as some of the players in Costa Coffee on Dalton Road!

However, the slightly depleted fanbase vociferously helped spur the team onto this precious win and were rewarded by an entertaining match with a happy ending.

Whitfield won our first corner within two minutes. This was cleared but in the 5th minute Spence won a free kick, Jackson’s shot punched clear by Trueman.

This bright start by Barrow didn’t prepare us for what came next. A lightning fast ball forward from half way by Crowley found Hogan quickly advancing on goal, his 8th minute shot from a narrow angle on the right beating Farman.

To Barrow’s credit we levelled two minutes later. Whitfield won a corner, and his corner kick from the left found Spence who, true to his form last Saturday, struck the ball into the left corner.

Ten minutes played and 1-1 already.

However, five minutes later there were warning signs of another repeat of MK Dons’ first. Again, Crowley found Hogan but this time Farman gathered.

A minute later another quick move saw Lawrence feeding Hogan, but Farman saved.

These scares roused the Barrow players into more organised effective blocking of the players concerned, soon snuffing out the early effectiveness of the visitors’ attacks.

This allowed us more freedom to create chances of our own.

After an effective build-up, a Whitfield shot was saved in the 19th minute. More good passing moves saw a precise cross by Newby in the 28th minute which only needed a touch.

On the half hour a foul on Gotts by Lawrence gave Jackson a 25-yard free kick, which was headed over by Pressley from inside the area.

In the 34th minute, MK Dons’ Lemonheigh-Evans was booked for a foul on Whitfield.

Three minutes later, good work by Foley gave Spence a long-range shot which went just wide.

In the 39th minute the visitors had a chance following a foul on Hogan by Cameron. The Kelly free kick was put out for a Kelly corner which was cleared. Foley was then booked for a foul on Hendry. The 42nd minute Kelly free kick was initially cleared and we then survived a dangerous cross.

With the visitors slightly resurgence at the end of the half, there was some relief when the whistle blew.

In the second half, we increased our intensity, going for every ball, keeping our shape and allowing MK Dons very little space to move forward. The industry of Gotts in particular was rewarded by another Man of the Match award but every player was now working his socks off to avoid conceding while fashioning some attacks at key moments.

Within a minute, Hendry was booked for a foul on Foley. Foley was fouled again 5 minutes later, but Jackson’s free kick went well over.

In the 55th minute a Whitfield cross was caught by Trueman.

On the hour, after another good Barrow build up, a Spence shot assisted by Gotts was cleared for a corner. Whitfield’s corner kick from the left was first cleared but then another Whitfield cross was bundled in by Cameron from close range for the 2-1 lead.

With still half an hour to play it seemed unlikely that we would keep MK Dons quiet. Indeed there were a couple of early scares after our goal. In the 64th minute, a ball forward by Crowley found Gilbey in front of goal. He headed what should have been a certain goal against the right post.

Hendry was then replaced by Orsi, and in the 66th minute we had scare number two. A Crowley cross was headed in to the net by Hogan but the linesman had his flag up.

Barrow service was then resumed. Two minutes later, Whitfield shot wide of the right post from long range.

In the 73rd minute, Acquah replaced Pressley. A minute later, Whitfield had the ball in the net but it was disallowed for an earlier foul in the build-up. Another two minutes on, a Jackson shot from an MJ Williams assist was saved by Trueman.

MK Dons tried a double substitution in the 78th minute, O’Reilly and Patterson coming on for J Williams and Lemonheigh-Evans.

We weren’t fazed by the visitors’ fresh legs and a great tackle by Newby soon found Gotts on another run. In the 82nd minute, Acquah was fouled and a Spence shot from a Whitfield free kick went just wide and high.

MK Dons tried in vain for an equaliser, an 86th minute shot by O’Reilly going well wide. Whitfield was then replaced by Smith and we saw out 4 minutes of time added comfortably for a brilliant win.

The players and manager received another lengthy well-deserved ovation at the end. We had not only beaten a very good team in an entertaining game, but come from behind and steadily improved as the game went on, more than matching the talented MK Dons at the finish.

[olbarrafancumbak]

A great win against a quality passing team tonight but just proves it's goals not possession that wins you games. Not seen the team work as hard for a quite a while, you can clearly see AW has instilled in them that's a given. Whilst applauding the lads off I watched every player give Cameron a prolonged embrace, good to see, no-one makes mistakes on purpose. Only 11 points off the play-offs now

40/1 to make playoffs and 250/1 for promotion

Keep playing like we do and you never know, we could sneak back in..

[Hawcoat]

Great result.

Spence back to his best. For me Gotts is playing the best football of his Barrow career. Newby worked his socks off.

Pressley impressed tonight held the ball up really well, unlucky not to get off the mark.

How good is it to have Whitfield back what a difference he makes!

[Scott5]

What a difference a month makes. Confidence is much higher and the players look like they know what they need to do and have an extra yard and spring. Feared the worst at 1-0 down with Cameron out of position for the goal and MK looking very assured on the ball, but a good reaction to equalise within two minutes and then see it through until halftime.

Second half and Barrow pressed a bit more, presumably ans instructed by Whing, and didn’t allow Crowley or any one else the same amount of time. When pressured they weren’t quite as comfortable. Well worked goal and nice for Cameron to score who must’ve been low after his recent errors. Nice to see Whitfield back and how we missed his ability to beat people and get a decent cross in. Got a bit lucky perhaps with the post and the offside goal but at the same time I didn’t see much wrong with Acquah in the build up to the disallowed goal. Amazing that it was given as a push yet Newby one at the end in the corner wasn’t…that’s Simon Mather for you.

No one had a bad game but Foley in not his natural position, Whitfield and Spence I thought were impressive. Gotts worked hard as ever to stop Crowley in the second half.

A couple more results like that and things will look a lot better.

[Methuselah]

Fantastic tonight.Every player deserves a pat on the back.Real.battling performance.I thought we were excellent tonight.Now go and beat Cheltenham.Onwards and upwards.