Barrow AFC look to make it three away wins in a row

The Bluebirds could not carry the form that saw them triumph at Eastleigh and Gateshead in the space of four days back to Holker Street last weekend.

They fell to a 3-0 defeat against Bromley, but manager Ady Pennock has been happy to see his players quickly put the result behind them in training this week.

Now, Barrow are all set to travel to FC Halifax Town tomorrow looking to add the Shaymen to their recent list of vanquished opponents and make it three in a row on the road for the first time since they defeated North Ferriby United, Southport and Lincoln City – all sides no longer in the National League – in August and September last year (3pm kick-off).

Pennock is aware of the threat posed by the home side, who sit four points and two places above the Bluebirds in the table, but feels his side are ready to bounce back from the loss last weekend.

“They have been very bright in training,” said Pennock. “I spoke to them beforehand and they were very bright – I think they needed the day off on Monday and the rest that gave them.

“They were very bright, and they are every day – they're very bright boys.

“The boys have been very positive, and I have been very positive around the place. I know think there should be any negativity at all around the place at the moment.

“We're going to get bumps and bruises along the way until the end of the season – there will be times when we win games and some times when we lose games. It's how we react to those losses.

“We've got an opportunity on Saturday to do that. We know it's going to be a very tough game, but if we can get the three points, then that will bring Halifax closer to us, bring other teams closer to us, and get them in the mix as well.

“We know Halifax is a difficult place to go, but we're really looking forward to it.”

He added: “It's not forgetting about the mistakes we have made; you have to learn from these mistakes, always learn from them, and move on to the next game.

“There is no point sulking around – you've got to be positive. As long as everyone is positive and puts a good shift in on Saturday, we will have a good opportunity to get the three points.”

Pennock has been particularly pleased to have ended a seven-month run without an away win for Barrow with the 2-0 success at Eastleigh a fortnight ago.

With that result backed up by the 2-1 triumph at Gateshead – against a team who had not conceded a goal in their previous five matches – he is positive matches on the road need no longer be an issue.

But there is no sense of complacency as Pennock looks ahead to tomorrow's game, and he said: “We put that record to bed with two great results, but they won't count for anything if we get relegated this season – we've got to survive and keep pushing up that table.

“We know there will be bumps and bruises along the way, and it's how we react to it.

“Going back to last Saturday, the really disappointing thing was that how well we played for the two games away, we couldn't do that at home in front of our own fans – because the fans have been absolutely brilliant. It was just a shame we couldn't show them what we had done for the last couple of games before that.

“We can put that right on Saturday. We respect Halifax – it's a very tough place to go, and they have got some dangerous players. The crowd are very vocal and they do get behind the team, so it's us keeping their fans quiet and worrying about ourselves more than anything.

“We've got to put in a performance and hopefully come away with a positive result.”

Pennock will be boosted tomorrow by the return of Moussa Diarra from a one-match ban following his fifth yellow card of the season and of captain Asa Hall, who missed the Bromley match as he became a father for the first time.

Dan Jones and David Fitzpatrick are both expected to be fit to play some role at the Shay as well.