LOAN forward Luke James showed Barrow AFC fans what he can do in his home debut against Sutton on Tuesday, and he hopes the team can do the same going forward.

James, who joined the Bluebirds until the end of the season from League Two Forest Green Rovers at the start of the month, was an impressive presence up front in the 1-1 draw with the U's.

The 23-year-old – who featured against Barrow for Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup tie last season – was a thorn in the side of Sutton throughout the 90 minutes, as the team around him produced their best display for some time.

And James is hopeful AFC can take confidence and momentum from the result against one of the division's high-fliers as they prepare to face Maidstone tomorrow, followed by Tuesday's visit of Gateshead to South Cumbria.

“I think Tuesday proved what we can do against one of the best teams in the league,” James, who won a penalty for Barrow on his debut at Torquay United two weeks ago, said. “I thought we were the better team for the whole 90 minutes and it gives everyone confidence.

“I thought it was a lot better than Torquay. I thought we did well and that we were the better team – we should really have come away with the three points. It was probably two points lost.

“But they're in the top quarter of the league, and if you're coming off a game against them thinking you should have won, then you know you've had a good game. We just need to try to continue that going forward, and it all comes from hard work.”

With matches coming thick and fast now following three postponements in the past month, James believes building that momentum can be done in short order, and added: “With the Tuesday games coming up, there's no rest for us, so if we can get a run going and win Saturday, Tuesday, Tuesday, then with the way this league is you can fly up the league.

“It's all about runs. If you win on a Saturday, then the best thing is if you have a game on the Tuesday, because you can go straight into it. There's no waiting around or long weeks, it's straight into another game. Again, if you get another result, then it's six points in two or three days.

“It is tight around the bottom as well, so six points in the space of three days is massive.”

On the other side, he added: “With it being Saturday and then Tuesday, if you don't get the result, then you've got that immediate chance to bounce back.”