VANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE

BARROW AFC 1 (Livesey 79) MACCLESFIELD TOWN (Byrne 82) 1

BARROW AFC are now nine games unbeaten in the National League – but fine though that statistic is, yet again they were left to ponder a late equaliser which denied them a home win.

For the third time in four matches at Holker Street, the Bluebirds conceded within the last 10 minutes after holding the lead and were made to settle for a point.

The difference between a win and a draw was the difference between climbing above Macclesfield into fourth and remaining in sixth. Take the six points dropped over the past month and AFC would be top.

Yet again, though, they matched opposition expected to be real challengers in this division come April, and yet again they showed they themselves fit into that category.

It was just that they did not have what they needed to see out the result.

The Silkmen showed early threat as Chris Holroyd, playing as a lone striker, managed to hold off Danny Livesey and retain the ball before setting up Paul Lewis, whose skimming effort from 25 yards went past the post with Joel Dixon at full stretch. Macc were having the better of it early on and the Barrow defence were too often guilty of mistiming kicks and headers as the pressure mounted. Livesey and Moussa Diarra were still proving hard to beat in the air though, the latter often rising high to dispel pressure.

Danny Rowe – formerly of this parish – had the next chance as Mitch Hancox hooked a ball to him on the right of the area in space, but he was caught in two minds and only managed to lift it back over the goal when he should have gone for the back of the net.

A Liam Hughes cross was met at the back post by Ryan Yates, whose effort was soft and at Scott Flinders in the visiting goal, but was a sign the Bluebirds were starting to find their attacking feet.

A deep Shaun Beeley cross was well cut-out by Neil Byrne at the back post as Richie Bennett lurked, with Jordan Williams’ corner headed at Flinders by Liam Hughes.

Nothing clear-cut was in the offing, but Byron Harrison did show supreme footwork as he beat two Macclesfield men on the by-line and ran into the area, with AFC team-mates waiting, but Rowe came back and stuck his foot in to cut out a pass to the charging Williams.

All told, this was not great entertainment, shown as even a 30-yard effort from Olly Norburn straight down Dixon’s throat created ripples in the crowd despite never threatening to go in.

Finally there came a real opening in the 40th minute as Harrison controlled a ball over the top with his chest and touched it to Hughes, whose flick set Beeley away to the by-line. He came into the area and picked out Williams, but the winger blazed over from 12 yards with the best opening of the game.

Lewis had another long-range effort, this one wide of the other post and Diarra was at his best as he took the ball from the feet of Holroyd after a Hughes slip almost put the Macclesfield striker in.

The closest either side came to breaking the first-half deadlock was in injury time as Dan Whitaker brought down Nick Anderton 20 yards out and former Macc captain Paul Turnbull fired past the wall at waist-height, with Flinders diving to his left to push the effort away.

Macc had the early second-half pressure, with Lewis flicking on a Whitaker free-kick from wide on the left and watching as it bounced back the far post.

Diarra was again alert to slide in and dispossess Rowe, thus stopping another threatening move, while Harrison got under a Williams cross to the near post at the other end and headed off target.

Another Williams set-piece, this one from deep, was flicked on by Bennett and came close to reaching the lurking Livesey, but the Town defence got there to deny a clear goal-scoring chance.

Harrison flicked a header from an almost identical position at Flinders, before a Rowe free-kick from the right found the run of Lewis at the back post. In space, with time, and an opening, he headed over from a yard.

Andy Haworth came off the bench to replace Bennett after 63 minutes, going to the wing as Williams joined Harrison in a two-man front line. But it was Norburn who tried his luck again from distance for the visitors, this time well off-target and leading him to pound the ground with both hands in frustration.

Further deadlock followed before Williams lobbed in a cross cum-shot from the right touchline and it started to loop dangerously towards the far top corner of the goal, with Flinders having no choice but to tip it over or else be embarrassed.

It turned out that was the audition for Williams as his next ball in found the head of Livesey at the back post as he ran in and headed back across goal, past the figure of Flinders, and into the goal.

With 11 minutes to go, the Bluebirds should have stood firm and shut up shop at the back. Instead, it was 1-1 at the first opportunity.

The ball reached Kingsley James on the right of the area from a set-piece after Dixon flapped and pushed it to the full-back and he was allowed time to compose himself. He pushed in an effort, Dixon and the defence failed to deal with it, and the ball bounced out to the feet of Byrne, who was two yards out and presented with a golden opportunity he was not to turn down.

Another former AFC man, Jack Mackreth, came off the bench and forced Dixon into a low save to his left and there was now a chance the visitors could take the spoils.

They did not, but the hosts probably should have.

Barrow AFC (4-4-2): Joel Dixon 6, Shaun Beeley 6, Nick Anderton 6, Danny Livesey 8, Moussa Diarra 9, Paul Turnbull 7, Liam Hughes 6, Ryan Yates 7, Richie Bennett 6 (Andy Haworth 63), Byron Harrison 7, Jordan Williams 7.

Substitutes Not Used: Alex-Ray Harvey, Ross Hannah, Lindon Meikle, Euan Murray.

Yellow Cards: Liam Hughes (87).

Macclesfield Town (4-5-1): Scott Flinders, Kingsley James, Neil Byrne, George Pilkington, Mitch Hancox, Paul Lewis, Olly Norburn, Dan Whitaker, Danny Rowe, Jack Sampson (Jack Mackreth 82), Chris Holroyd.

Substitutes Not Used: David Fitzpatrick, Craig Ross, Chris Sutherland.

Referee: Tom Neild.

Attendance: 1,442.