IAN Evatt spoke positively about Barrow’s display in last night’s 0-0 draw at Hartlepool United, declaring it was the perfect away performance bar a goal.

In the last two fixtures the Bluebirds have had two penalties late on in each fixture, which both John Rooney and Jack Hindle have failed to convert.

Boss Evatt was impressed by the defensive resilience of his side as they kept their first away clean sheet, but stated that the whole team played well.

“We did really well,” Evatt said. “It was a perfect performance, minus the goal.

“I’m proud of the way that we battled and fought. It was more than the back four, it was a team effort and I’m happy about that.”

Evatt further reflected on the two penalty misses that have ultimately cost AFC three points in the last two fixtures.

And the Bluebirds manager felt that his side should have walked away from Victoria Park with all three points.

“I thought we played well against Solihull; against Hartlepool, we knew we’d have to weather a storm early on,” he said.

“We knew they’d tire. We took over the game late on in the game, we had a great chance with the penalty, which we missed again.

“It (penalty misses) has cost us three points this week but I’m really pleased with the way we’ve played. It’s a difficult place to come. We’ve matched them and ultimately deserved to win the game.”

Evatt can certainly take the positives from the performance as AFC were within inches of winning away from home for the first time in his managerial reign.

Bluebirds fans must also feel as though a victory away from Holker Street is only a matter of time in coming.