Last updated at 15:15, Tuesday, 24 November 2009

BARROW AFC will not run scared of FA Trophy opponents Kettering Town.

The Bluebirds were yesterday handed a tough away draw against the Poppies in the first round of the competition on Saturday, December 12.

Kettering currently sit third in the Blue Square Premier and are the highest-placed team Barrow could have been spliced against in the regionalised draw.

Barrow joint-manager Dave Bayliss – whose side go to number one non-league team Oxford United in the second round of the FA Cup on Saturday – said: “Obviously if we had the choice, we wouldn’t have chosen Kettering away, but that’s the way these draws seem to be going for us at the moment. It’s a tough game, but we’ve got to get on with it, go there and do ourselves justice, which we will do.

“We’re certainly not going to be scared (of Kettering) or dreading it.”

He added: “We haven’t done well in the FA Trophy in the two years that me and Shez (Darren Sheridan) have been in charge here, but we have done well in the FA Cup. It’s something we’d like to put right.”

AFC have already visited Rockingham Road this season, letting slip a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 in September’s league fixture.

Bayliss said: “We went there and played well. There wasn’t much in the game, but we gave away sloppy goals. Kettering are very workmanlike and hard to beat, but we have shown that when we eradicate our mistakes we can go to places like Crawley and Wrexham and get results.

“We know that if we cut out silly mistakes, which we will do, we’ll get results against the best sides in this league.

“I don’t think people, in all honesty, give credit to how good our players really are.

“Some of our players would walk into sides like Oxford.

“We have the best right-back in the league in Simon Spender, you don’t get many better left-backs than Gareth Jelleyman.

“Robin Hulbert is one of the best central midfielders in the league and Andy Bond is fast becoming one of the best.”

First published at 12:55, Tuesday, 24 November 2009
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk