County will be looking to avenge their opening day defeat to Barrow this weekend, on a day that could see us move into the automatic promotion places for the first time this season.
Dave Challinor’s side are currently on their best run of the season, securing a fifth consecutive win on Tuesday night away at Rochdale; Will Collar’s double securing a 2-1 win at the Crown Oil Arena.
We were the only side in the top half of the table in action that night, meaning the three points lifted us above Mansfield and Northampton into 4th place – our highest position of the season, and just one point behind Carlisle in the final automatic promotion place.
Another win on the road on Saturday could actually see County end the day as high as 2nd, should Carlisle drop points at Crawley and Stevenage lose their game at home to Tranmere. Defeat on the other hand could see us slip back down into sixth, with Mansfield hosting Salford and Northampton travelling to Colchester elsewhere in League Two.
Pete Wild’s Barrow side come into this game on the back of a much needed three points away at Bradford last time out; Josh Kay’s first-half strike earning a first win in seven games for the Cumbrians. The result lifted them back into the top half of the table, currently sitting 12th – five points off a play-off spot and ten points behind County.
Since we last met:
Barrow’s win at Edgeley Park on the opening day was just the beginning of a sensational start to the season under new boss Pete Wild.
Leading 3-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Josh Gordon, former County man Ben Whitfield and Billy Waters, the Bluebirds held off a second-half fightback from County to win 3-2 – Antoni Sarcevic and Paddy Madden getting the goals for the Hatters. The Cumbrians went on to win seven of their opening nine league games to sit 2nd in the table early on, with Whitfield at the heart of that great run.
It was an impressive start for a side that finished 22nd last season, just one place and six points above the relegation zone in their third season back in the EFL, before moving to appoint former Halifax boss Wild in the Summer. A run of just one point from five games over September and October threatened to derail that early momentum, but the side bounced back impressively to win four of their next five games.
It’s been a very different story since December, however. Wild’s team have won just twice in 13 games since the final month of 2022, losing seven times over that period. The two wins they did claim were impressive, coming away at Bradford and Mansfield Town, but a difficult run of games has seen them slip further away from the play-off places.
Their home form, so strong in the first half of the season, has deserted them in recent weeks. Despite winning eight of their first ten games at Holker Street at the start of the campaign, they come into this encounter winless in their last five – losing four of them, most recently to Newport County a fortnight ago.
That win at Bradford however has reignited hope of a late play-off push, and they remain within touching distance of the top seven in what is an incredibly congested league table. Completing a league double over Dave Challinor’s side would be a real statement of intent heading into the run-in.
One to watch:
Winger Ben Whitfield made 19 appearances for County last season after joining from Torquay United, playing his part as we were earned promotion back to the Football League as National League champions, before leaving to join Barrow in the Summer.
In a twist of fate, he made his debut for his new club at Edgeley Park – scoring Barrow’s second in a 3-2 win for the Cumbrians. He has gone on to score a further four times in League Two this season, as well as register ten assists – the joint most in the division, alongside Carlisle’s Owen Moxon and Salford’s Elliot Watt.
Although he started last Saturday’s win at Bradford on the bench, the winger is expected to feature this weekend against his old side.
Match Stats:
- This will be the 94th competitive meeting between the two sides. County have the historical edge, winning 51 games to Barrow’s 32, although we have won just one of our last seven against the Bluebirds.
- Our last win away against Barrow came back in October 2013, winning 4-2 in our first season in the Skrill North – Rhys Turner and Phil Jevons both grabbing braces, in front of 684 fans on a Tuesday night.
- County sit top of the form table over the last 20 games in League Two, collecting 42 points over that period. Barrow sit 17th in that form guide, having picked up 23 points.
- A victory on Saturday would be Dave Challinor’s 50th as Stockport County manager. He has won 49 of his first 80 games in charge.
