PAUL Cox and his Barrow AFC side are clinging on to National League play-off hopes for dear life after their 3-1 win over North Ferriby United.

Cox was happy to see his team respond to the Good Friday drubbing at Bromley with a competent display that kept them still in the hunt mathematically.

With Aldershot beating Dover 1-0 in Hampshire, the Bluebirds now sit four points behind the fifth-placed Shots, with both teams having two fixtures remaining.

Dover stand between then, on 75 points to Barrow’s 72 and Aldershot’s 76, but with a game in hand.

The chances are slim, but if AFC win their remaining two games and neither of their rivals take victory from any of their games, then the play-offs are still there.

It might be only the most optimistic of supporters who believes it possible, but Cox is not giving up hope just yet.

“There is still a chance – that’s what we said before the game,” he said. “The worst part of this business is if you give you give up hope, then things go against other clubs, so you are left looking back with ifs, buts and maybes.

“All we have said is we will give it a right good go. As much as I was disappointed with last week (the 4-1 defeat at Bromley), there has been an awful lot of fatigue, and these are things we have to learn from going into next season in terms of the mistakes that have been made. We need to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“We changed systems and we were a bit too open, a bit too easy to play against last week, which was very unlike us. Sometimes that mental fatigue and physical fatigue does get the better of you.

“Everybody is fighting for scraps now, and it was nice for us to respond in the right way today, because last week wasn’t good enough for this football club.”

He added: “Aldershot beat Dover today, but all we can do is win our games and see what happens.

“I think today summed up our last month – we went into a commanding lead in the first half, but I thought we got sloppy in the second half and took our foot off the gas. We had to rely on Flatty (goalkeeper Jon Flatt) to make a couple of good saves and a penalty miss.

“You have to beat what is in front of you – this is a team who have just beaten Eastleigh at home and beat Forest Green away – any team you play at this level of football, you have to earn the right.

“All we have done is won a game, we showed a response from last week, and it keeps us in that little mix. That’s all we can do.”

Richie Bennett – with his 22nd goal of the season to move ahead of Byron Harrison in Barrow’s scoring charts – Shaun Beeley – with his first of the campaign – and Jordan Williams netted the goals which saw Barrow come from behind to beat North Ferriby and condemn them to relegation back to National League North. Ferriby had led through Reece Thompson’s fourth-minute goal and missed a penalty as Connor Oliver struck the post.

It was a case of the home side doing exactly what they needed to do, and Cox said: “There was a weird kind of energy today about the football club, it was like the season was over.

“To rest on our laurels is not good enough for me. We want to finish off the season well – there is nothing better than sticking in there. I hope it goes right to the wire, I hope it goes down to the last minute of the last game where decisions are made for the play-offs, because that’s what I’m in it for – I want to win another championship and get this club promoted.”