BARROW boss Darren Edmondson and club owner Paul Casson have reacted with excitement to the news the Bluebirds will resume hostilities with AFC Fylde in the FA Cup.

The ‘spicy’ fourth qualifying round tie will take place at Fylde’s Kellamergh Park on Saturday, October 24, when £12,500 of prize money will be up for grabs.

It is a tasty match-up that brings together last season’s fierce Conference North title rivals. That race went right down to the wire, with the Bluebirds being crowned champions courtesy of their 3-2 final-day win at Lowestoft.

Fylde had to settle for the runners-up spot and were unsuccessful in their subsequent play-off bid. The Coasters currently sit second in the National North table, having won eight and lost two of their 12 league games.

Last season Barrow suffered a shock FA Cup defeat, going down 1-0 against visiting second qualifying round opponents Runcorn Town.

Reflecting on the upcoming Fylde clash, Edmondson said: “You have to take what’s given to you in cup draws, last year we got a good draw and let ourselves down.

“This draw could have been worse, it could have been better. It will have a lot of atmosphere to it because of what happened last year, there’s already some spice built into the game on the back of last season.

“So I’m sure it will be a great game and one that both sets of fans will now be looking forward to.

“The players will already be motivated on the back of what happened last season and the new boys are already talking about it.

“Any kind of motivational team talk you may need is taken away because of what happened last year and the rivalry between the two football clubs.”

Barrow will also be out to enjoy a slice of revenge as the Coasters secured 3-2 (away) and 2-1 league wins over them last term.

Fylde have made it this stage of the competition courtesy of qualifying-round wins over Stockport County (1-0) and Coleshill Town (9-0).

Casson gave his reaction to the draw by saying: “I’m absolutely thrilled.

“For the fans, Fylde is fairly close and the game has plenty of recent history, so it should be a very tasty encounter with a lot on the line – not least entry to the first round of the FA Cup.

“I would imagine that based on what happened last season the fans will be very excited about this particular encounter.

“The competition is full of tough games. Teams from a lower level, their sole purpose is to knock out teams above them. And would you really rather go to Wrexham or Lincoln?

“I think it’s a brilliant draw, mainly because it should give us a fairly good indication of where we are.

“We’ve made a lot of changes. We’ve gone full time, recruited some additions and we’re a third of the way through the season, so it should give us a measure of where we are.

“Fylde are exactly where they finished last year, so we want to know where we are this year, and this is a perfect measure.

“Have we progressed or have we not?

“Last time I think our fans outnumbered theirs (at last year’s Kellamergh Park Boxing Day clash, which saw Fylde carve out a 3-2 victory) by a large magnitude, I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened again.

“Fylde are very ambitious and we expect them to be following us along so I assume we will see them often in the coming years.”