AIRBUS UK BROUGHTON 1 BARROW 1

BARROW’S pre-season campaign began in positive fashion despite having to settle for a draw at the Welsh Premier outfit on Saturday.

AFC were denied a bagful of goals by the impressive home keeper in a bright performance on Saturday, against a home outfit littered with the triallists from the start.

Barrow manager Paul Cox began with his current squad, taking off the majority in installments in the second half to allow his clutch of triallists their chance to shine. Minor injuries ruled out Moussa Diarra, Lindon Meikle and Paul Turnbull.

It looked like being plain sailing for the Bluebirds going into the interval despite only having a Ross Hannah goal to show for their domination, but they were pegged back by a long-range strike and also needed a Coughlan penalty save to ensure parity. These being Airbus’s only two shots on goal.

Barrow started well, with a good Shaun Beeley run down the wing before Hannah was clean through but chipped over with only the keeper to beat. Hannah made amends moments later though when Richard Bennett headed the ball into the path of the on-running ex-Chester ace who slotted home in the 14th minute.

Hannah broke again soon afterwards with his cross setting up Bennett, but his close-range side-foot was blocked. Danny Livesey thought he had extended the visitors’ lead but his header from another Bennett set-up drew the assistant referee’s flag.

How the hosts didn’t go further behind only their first half triallist keeper knows. He first blocked Jordan Williams’s shot from a Hannah pass and then made a brilliant tip-over to deny Andy Haworth’s close-range follow-up effort.

With several triallists coming on for Barrow after the break, their dominance would have been expected to wane, but this was rarely the case.

They needed a fine Andy Coughlan penalty save from James Murphy who was adjudged to have been fouled by Nick Anderton in the box ten minutes into the second period.

Alex-Ray Harvey, who played the entire 90 minutes, delivered a fine pull-back, but his cross was blocked before the second half Airbus triallist keeper made an excellent save to deny Matt Tyrell Waite, set up by a fine Matt Hamilton tackle.

Waite then had a header parried away from Elliot Newby’s cross.

Unfortunately, a slip-up from the burly David Mellor gifted the hosts possession and Couglan was left grasping at thin air as Jean-Charles Coly’s 25-yard effort found the top corner.

Barrow pushed for a deserved winner with Hamilton’s shot from distance just landing wide before Newby’s cross-cum-shot was saved.

Airbus: Trialist; Trialist; N Williams; Connolly; Triallist; Triallist; Triallist; A Williams; Blake; Montrio; Wignall; Triallist; Triallist; Triallist; Triallist; Triallist; Edwards; Triallist; Murphy; Triallist; Triallist; Triallist.

Barrow: Dixon; Beeley; Anderton; Parry; Livesey; Haworth; Harvey; Bennett; Hannah; Williams; Hughes; Coughlan; Mellor; Newby; Deamon; Murray; Belezuka; Raheem; Hamilton; Sinclair; Waite.