Holker Street Newsletter 7 - 20th October 1997

HYDE v BARROW - SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER

Great news from Hyde - Barrow cruised to a 3-0 win in an open, entertaining game. Radio Cumbria described it as our best performance of the season. Owen Brown said that before the game that the players were looking forward to it because Hyde would play football - he said the last five or six games teams have put eleven players behind the ball and challenged Barrow to break them down. Morton scored on the half hour then Prior got a great goal on the stroke of half time. Barrow strolled the game apart from a short spell just after the interval and Lee O'Keeffe turned in a Jones header to wrap the game up five minutes from time.


OTHER NEWS
Marginson's injury sustained in the 1-0 victory over Chorley is a very severe bruise, not a fracture.

Owen Brown this week turned down a 'very good offer' to manage Stafford Rangers. He said he 'turned it down for Stephen Vaughan and the fans'. Interestingly, he said that the off the field setup at Stafford was much better than Barrow's with excellent backing from local industry. Adding that this was something Barrow need to look at.

Thanks to Jim Whitton.

Next game away to Accrington Stanley 21 October (kick off 7.30pm).


UNIBOND LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION, 18 OCTOBER
Bamber Bridge 0 Gainsborough Trinity 2, Blyth Spartans 2 Accrington Stanley 2, Boston United 2 Lancaster City 0, Chorley 1 Altrincham 0, Colwyn Bay 1 Emley 3, Guiseley 2 Marine 2, HYDE UNITED 0 BARROW 3, Runcorn 2 Bishop Auckland 0.

P W D L F:A Pts
BARROW......................15 9 4 2 27:11 31
Boston United...............16 7 7 2 22:14 28
Runcorn.....................13 7 2 4 26:19 23
Spennymoor United...........12 6 3 3 17:16 21
Colwyn Bay..................15 6 3 6 21:25 21
Altrincham..................14 6 2 6 25:13 20
Gainsborough Trinity........11 6 2 3 19:11 20
Winsford United..............8 6 1 1 13:5 19
Guiseley....................13 4 7 2 21:18 19
Emley.......................12 5 3 4 22:18 18
Bishop Auckland.............12 4 5 3 19:18 17
Frickley Athletic...........12 4 4 4 13:15 16
Hyde United.................10 4 2 4 14:13 14
Lancaster City..............13 4 2 7 21:27 14
Accrington Stanley..........14 3 5 6 16:22 14
Leigh RMI....................9 3 4 2 9:6 13
Marine......................10 3 4 3 13:13 13
Radcliffe Borough...........13 3 3 7 18:28 12
Blyth Spartans..............13 2 5 6 12:17 11
Bamber Bridge...............12 3 2 7 18:27 11
Chorley.....................12 2 3 7 13:26 9
Alfreton Town...............11 1 1 9 7:24 4


RECORDS
In the last Newsletter I wrote about Barrow AFC's records, Frank Boddy has emailed me saying he believes Bob Knox (who used to own the newsagents on the roundabout at Furness Park Road and Oxford Street in Barrow, next to the hairdressers owned by Lee Copeland's parents) was the first player to come on as a substitute (it was in a League Cup tie in 196?) and the first amateur player to replace an injured goalkeeper and save a penalty (?). Anyone help with these?


BRLFC
It appears Barrow RLFC are to merge with Carlisle RLFC, as they believe that with their combined resources they can get back into the first division. I don't know where they are going to be based, but perhaps this would squash any rumours of ground-sharing with the Bluebirds.

Thanks to Derek Wilson for this.


MORE TRIDENTS ANNOUNCED FOR THE ROYAL NAVY
I came across this snippet of news on the Daily Telegraph page, and whilst it's not AFC related, it does have implications for the town.

The government is to pay close to UKP100m for seven new nuclear missiles for Trident submarines, in a move which demonstrates its commitment to maintaining Britain's nuclear deterrent, but which will also anger the left-wingers who continue to criticise its spending programme. Lord Gilbert, the minister for defence procurement, stated despite the purchase, Labour continues to work towards 'verifiable' global disarmament. Lord Gilbert signalled his strong personal support for Trident when he told peers that construction of the fourth and final submarine was proceeding well at the GEC Marine yard at Barrow-in-Furness


FORECAST
You may remember in an earlier Newsletter, I mentioned a computer programme which forecasts the final League position according to previous results. This is the latest version BEFORE this weekend's results

1 Winsford United 100
2 Barrow 81
3 Spennymoor United 77
4 Gainsborough Trinity 71
5 Runcorn 70
6 Boston United 69
7 Bishop Auckland 65
8 ALTRINCHAM 65
9 Hyde United 63
10 Leigh RMI 63
11 Colwyn Bay 62
12 Guiseley 61
13 Frickley Athletic 57
14 Marine 56
15 Emley 55
16 Lancaster City 49
17 Bamber Bridge 42
18 Accrington Stanley 42
19 Radcliffe Borough 38
20 Blyth Spartans 35
21 Chorley 27
22 Alfreton Town 12

If you want a copy of this programme contact
HOLKER STREET NUMBER 7a - 23 OCTOBER 1997

UNIBOND LEAGUE: PREMIER DIVISION
Tuesday 22 October: Accrington Stanley 0 Barrow 1, Altrincham 2 Runcorn 1, Bamber Bridge 1 Hyde 1, Blyth Spartans 1 Bishop Auckland 4, Chorley 2 Lancaster 3, Guiseley 1 Alfreton 2, Radcliffe 0 Winsford 2.

ACCRINGTON STANLEY 0 BARROW 1
Barrow stole three points with a 1-0 win thanks to a goal by Mark Grugel two minutes from time after an unconvincing display. They struggled in the first half and Accrington had the better chances. After the interval Barrow didn't look like conceding a goal but didn't look much like scoring either. The referee was our friend Mr Catterall whose display at Barrow three weeks ago was described by Russell Dodd as 'appalling' - tonight he was a 'model of inconsistency' booking two Barrow players, four home players and sending one Accrington player off!

Thanks to James Whitton for this.

Next game (according to my reckoning) is home to Lancaster City, 28 October, in the UniBond League Cup, Second Round.


ANOTHER MATCH REPORT FROM HYDE v BARROW
This was superb. Hyde were outplayed, out-thought and outmanoeuvred in every department in the best Barrow performance of this season. On a warm, sunny afternoon Hyde were quick to exploit the weakness in Barrow's defence on the right hand side behind Prior, used again as an attacking wing back, but as soon as Jones moved over to his right to cover that space, Hyde's attacking options petered out.

Farrelly made three cracking saves to keep Hyde at bay but once the goals started going in, there was only one team in it. The first was the result of a lovely move which looked like it was coming to nothing with the ball drifting over to the corner. Coates retrieved it and found O'Keefe who fed Johnston to his right. Morton fooled the offside trap and timed his run perfectly to meet Johnston's through pass and slot the ball home. And the second was Prior doing what he does best; bringing the ball out of midfield and letting fly from 10-15 yards. The third came from a long, high cross from Higgins (Jones?) that landed perfectly at the far post for O'Keefe to poke over the line. Coates' tireless running created a lot of space for Morton. Bauress, Jones, Higgins, Robertson, Johnston, Prior and Farrelly also had excellent games. The only one below par was O'Keefe whose lack of control and strength prevented him from getting his hat-trick. Yes, it could have been five or six, Barrow were that dominant. Morton was unlucky to see his shot from an acute angle strike the woodwork.

Our reporter added that even Jimmy Brown played well. He received a well deserved round of applause when he was replaced by Hennigan in the second half. The crowd was given as 832, Hyde's second best of the season, bettered only by the visit of close neighbours Altrincham.

If Barrow play like this every week, then no one can stop them.

Marginson's injury is not as bad as it first appeared. He told supporters at Hyde that he had a blood clot in his leg and he'd be out of action until it clears, maybe two or three weeks. He was limping badly, though. Cooper was also at Hyde. He looked fit and well. And McAuley was one of the subs, so he must be fit again too.

Thanks to Derek Wilson


NEWS
There is no match this Saturday, we were due to face Blyth Spartans, but they are on FA Cup duty. Neil Morton and Gary Bauress have been selected for the League (UniBond) representative XI, but no idea when and where this is to be played.

Thanks to Frank Boddy for those snippets.


BITS AND BOBS
I've come across a web page for a magazine called Cumbria Life: www.cumbrialife.demon.co.uk
So if you're interested, have a butcher's. They offer a complimentary copy of a recent edition through the web page. I realise a number of Barrovians still see Barrow as part of Lancashire, but there you go. As an aside, next time you are on the web, go to one of the search engines and have a look under Barrow-in-Furness, you'll be surprised what there is available.

Although I don't know of any plans for the North-Western Evening Mail to be on the net, do you?