Victorious Stockport Score Late Penalty to end Barrow’s spirited come back.

Festive Double Header Part Two

Stockport 3-2 Barrow: Slippery surfaces, Baker’s Double and Dubious Decisions?

Barrow warming up at Edgeley Park ahead of the match

Stockport score a controversial late penalty to seal victory after Barrow staged a forceful second half comeback. County were leading 2-0 by half time before Richie Baker scored two goals to draw the Bluebirds level. However Sam Sheridan’s 84th minute goal from the penalty spot gave the Hatters all three points in one of the most exciting games of the season.

Stockport took an early lead with a stunning goal from Sam Sheridan on 9^th minute. Tom Elliott headed the ball onto Sheridan who produced a screamer from 30 yards out that rocketed into the top left corner.

County earned a second goal after Aaron Cole caught out Barrow right back Kelvin Lomax and counter attacked on the left wing. Cole squared the ball into Elliott who missed his shot, but Joe Connor managed to scrappily push the ball over the line, giving Stockport a 2-0 lead on the 32^nd minute.  

Barrow dominated the second half as Paul Rutherford crossed from the right wing to set up Adam Boyes’ headed shot. Boyes’ attempt was cleared by Matt Glennon but Richie Baker chested it over the line on 57^th minute to make it 2-1.

The Bluebirds drew level after they were awarded a penalty as Danny O’Donnell handballed in the area. Richie Baker stepped up to the spot and scored his fifth goal of the season on 67^th minute.  

Stockport secured victory after a controversial penalty was given against Danny Hone for handballing in the area. Man of the match Sam Sheridan scored the winner from the spot to the elation of nearly 3000 County fans.

Stockport move up to 19th in the league, while Barrow’s defeat drops them two places to 12^th in the Blue Square Bet Premier.

Barrow Joint Manager Dave Bayliss says the players are devastated not to earn any points in my post match interview recorded for The Bay’s Goalzone:



Dave Bayliss Interview - Stockport v Barrow by amyscarisbrick

Slippery Surfaces

After a scrappy and tight 1-0 victory for Barrow over Stockport County on Boxing Day, the second part of this festive double header was set to be exciting as both teams knew what to expect from the opposing side.

Barrow joint managers Dave Bayliss and Darren Sheridan made no changes to the side that beat Stockport at the Furness Building Society Stadium eight days ago and they lined up in the usual 4-4-2 formation.

All focus ahead of the game was on Louis Almond who was making his final appearance in a Barrow shirt. The striker’s loan spell is due to end on Wednesday 4^th January as he returns to parent club Blackpool. Earlier this week, winger Dominic Rowe also returned to parent club Bradford City after his loan period with the Bluebirds ended.

The teams coming out of the tunnel

There was a delayed start to the match as Stockport’s captain Danny O’Donnell received treatment after clashing heads with Andy Cook.

Once play had finally started, Sam Sheridan produced his 30 yard wonder goal in the first real phase of the match, stunning Barrow right from the start.

Ironically, Sam is the nephew of Barrow manager Darren Sheridan and he had an excellent performance against his uncle’s side.  

The first half saw a dismal performance from Barrow where they were outplayed in most areas of the game. This was mainly due to the greasy and slippery surface of the pitch at Edgeley Park which made play very difficult for Barrow in the opening 45 minutes.

Stockport were able to control the ball better and play it along the ground, while Barrow couldn’t get a good first touch and had to revert to long ball tactics.

After Stockport’s second goal, Barrow began to fight their way into the match. Andy Cook had their first real shot on target, heading wide of the left post from 14 yards out on 40^th minute. This was followed up by Richie Baker’s shot from the edge of the box that was comfortably saved by County keeper Matt Glennon.

Stockport were the better side in the first half and took their chances when they came, however in the second half the tide was about to turn in Barrow’s favour.

Baker’s Double

Barrow came out a completely different side in the second half and were intent to score points from the match. Bayliss and Sheridan made an early substitution, replacing Lomax with Paul Smith at right back, changing the shape of the side by pushing Paul Rutherford and Jack Mackreth further forward.

This proved successful as Boyes received James Owen’s long ball and had his shot from 8 yards saved by Glennon on 49^th minute. Moments later Boyes’ flick set up Paul Rutherford with a shot from 25 yards that went narrowly wide of the left post.

Edgeley Park

It was all one way traffic and Barrow’s come back was due to brilliant runs on the wings from Rutherford and Mackreth that were absent from the first half.

The attack continued into the closing stages of the match and Baker set up Cook with a great headed shot that was saved by Glennon on 80^th minute.

Like in the Boxing Day match against Stockport, Richie Baker had another great performance by scoring the two goals that got Barrow back into the game. There was an incredible amount of pressure on Baker to score the second goal from the penalty spot after Barrow had just had a goal disallowed. Yet the midfielder managed to score and keep the Bluebirds temporarily in the contest.

Dubious Decisions?

The match will sadly be remembered for controversial decisions. The first questionable incident was in the build up to Barrow’s second goal. Andy Cook rounded the keeper Glennon on the right of the box and his squared ball was tapped in from 5 yards out by Adam Boyes on 65^th minute. The Barrow players began celebrating and the referee disallowed the goal and pulled it back to award a penalty instead to Barrow for O’Donell’s handball in the area.

Baker then went on to score the subsequent penalty, but an advantage could have been played to allow the goal to stand, rather than making Barrow take a penalty and score again.

The penalty at the end of the match awarded to Stockport was the main talking point of the New Year tie.

The referee had already signalled for a corner kick to Stockport and then changed his mind very late to instead award Stockport a penalty. The incident itself seemed rather harsh as the ball flicked up and hit Danny Hone’s arm. Nevertheless, credit must be given to Sheridan for scoring a great winning goal from the penalty spot in the final minutes of the match.



The Travelling Barrow fans

For the Barrow fans and players, it’s a heartbreaking result as a point was the very least the team deserved and they had been close to winning the game.

For Stockport, it was a massive result that lifted them slightly away from the relegation zone and the win clearly meant a lot to the fans who celebrated emphatically.

For the neutral fan, it was a spectacular contest as it was an open and dramatic game. The atmosphere in Edgeley Park was electric from both sets of fans, especially the 341 travelling Barrow fans that made more noise than nearly 3000 Stockport supporters in the stadium.

Barrow will hope to bounce back with a home fixture next Saturday against mid-table team Darlington.

@amyscarisbrick

Stockport: Glennon Holden O’Donnell (Capt) Fraughan (Gritton 73) Sheridan Halls (McCann 64) Elliott Piergianni Edwards Cole Connor

Subs not used: Ormson Rowe Blackburn

Barrow: Hurst Lomax (Smith 50) Skelton Bolland (Capt) Hone Mackreth Baker Owen Rutherford Cook (Almond 87) Boyes

Subs not used: Pearson Ferrell Moyo