WHEN: October 2010

WHERE: Gigg Lane, Bury

FORMER Barrow AFC midfielder Karl Marginson described the result as the "biggest win in our history".

Unfortunately for Bluebirds fans, Marginson was speaking from the perspective of his role as manager of FC United after they dumped AFC out of the FA Cup on a bright autumnal Sunday in Greater Manchester.

FC United – formed five years earlier as a protest against the Glazers takeover at Old Trafford – had dumped out Barrow, a side some 39 places above them in the non-league pyramid.

Carlos Roca's 78th-minute goal was enough to send the Evostik side into the first round and set up a derby at League One Rochdale.

For Barrow fans, it was a harsh pill to swallow after the glory of their two previous FA Cup journeys, which had taken them to Premier League Middlesbrough and Sunderland for money-spinning third round ties.

Just five months earlier, Barrow had lifted the FA Trophy with a shock victory against Stevenage at Wembley, but Gigg Lane, Bury, in front of 3,229 fans, was pretty far removed from the dizzy heights of the national stadium.

AFC went into the game expected to win. But after a miserable seven-match winless run had seen them drop into the Blue Square Premier drop-zone, joint-manager Dave Bayliss' claim that they were actually the underdogs was not without justification.

And pretty much right from the start it was the home side who took the game to Barrow, with AFC's back-up keeper Shaun Pearson having to be alert to deny Ben Deegan as early as the 10th minute.

Nick Chadwick missed a half-chance for Barrow, before Glynn Hurst headed over and Jerome Wright bent a low right-footed shot just inches past the upright at the other end.

Barrow's Jason Walker had a great chance to opened the scoring five minutes later, but he failed to connect cleanly with a 12-yard effort and Sam Ashton saved easily as the half ended goalless.

Hurst saw a near-post header flash wide and Pearson twice denied Wright as FC United sensed Barrow were there for the taking in the second half.

Mike Norton played a smart one-two with Hurst and saw his 16-yard shot beat Pearson but strike the foot of the far post.

Marginson's men were knocking on the door, and they got the goal their display deserved 12 minutes from time when Norton found space inside the box and his shot was redirected by Roca, whose close-range prod sent the home supporters behind the goal wild.

Barrow were out and AFC joint-boss and midfielder Darren Sheridan was honest in his after-match assessment.

"It was not good enough all over the park, myself included," said Sheridan, while Marginson hailed his team of heroes and enthused: "I'm just buzzing for everybody at the club."

Barrow sides have had mixed fortunes playing in Sunday FA Cup ties in recent years.

In contrast to the gloom of the FC United defeat, came the glory of Barrow's 2-1 victory at Bristol Rovers in last season's second round. They had drawn at Taunton Town, also on a Sunday, in the first round.

Let's hope the Bluebirds fans travelling to South Yorkshire tomorrow have a day to remember for the right reasons.

FC United: Ashton, Jacobs, Neville, Holden, Munroe, McManus, Roca, Cottrell, Norton, Wright, Deegan. Subs used: Platt, Hurst, Oyington.

Barrow: S Pearson, Spender, Edwards, Bolland, Jones, M Pearson, Sheridan, Boyd, Donnelly, Walker, Chadwick. Subs used: Goodfellow, Rutherford, Forrest.