A SURE-FIRE sign Barrow Raiders were firmly in control of yesterday's League One Cup semi-final against Oxford came midway through the second half when a small group of seagulls took to wandering around the Duke Street end of the Craven Park pitch.

Yes, such was the dominance the Raiders were enjoying en route to sealing their place in the showpiece game at the Summer Bash in Blackpool later this month that the local avian life could feel safe striding about nonchalantly at the end being defended by the hosts.

Given how Barrow were rated as 1/125 favourites with the bookies for this tie and given a 34-point head start in the handicap betting, it should come as little surprise they were able to eventually ease through with a 64-14 victory.

It was perhaps even more impressive given how Oxford had trailed by just six points at the interval though, with the visitors capitalising on their 90 per cent completion rate and one or two errors to get three tries during the first 40 minutes.

Not that any of this came as a surprise to head coach Paul Crarey, who had talked constantly in the build-up about the danger posed by Tim Rumford's men and the threat of complacency creeping in for his team.

But following some stern words from the coaching staff at half time, the Raiders rectified those errors they had made and ensured it was one-way traffic against Oxford, running in a further eight tries to go with the four they had scored prior to the interval.

It was Shane Toal who led the way for the Raiders with a hat-trick of tries, taking his tally for the season to nine, with Joe Bullock and Lewis Charnock – who also kicked seven conversions – adding two apiece.

Toal had a hand in the opening try after just four minutes as well, taking a pass from Ryan Fieldhouse and then streaking down the right touchline before passing back inside for full-back Fieldhouse to get an unconverted score.

However, a knock-on from the restart allowed Oxford perfect field position from which to attack and they levelled the scores just three minutes later when hooker Casey Canterbury scampered through the defence to dot down.

Barrow's response was immediate, with Jarrad Stack leaping high to win the ball back from the restart and then a penalty for offside allowing the hosts to set up an attack which saw Fieldhouse return the favour for Toal to get his first try of the match.

But on 24 minutes, the Raiders found themselves undone again by Oxford's second try. It came about in slightly fortuitous circumstances as as Callum Windley's initial pass appeared to be slightly forward and then bounced ahead off the legs of Jordan Gill, but the winger showed great composure to scoop up streak away untouched to level the game again.

Had Stack, James Duerden and Nathan Mossop not been held up over the line, Barrow could well have moved further ahead. Yet they eventually established daylight thanks to the Fieldhouse-Toal combination and Brad Brennan's powerful carry in the eight minutes before half time.

Once again though, Oxford hit back when Scott Fleming was quickest to gather the ball following another knock-on, followed by the scrum-half bursting through for a try just before the hooter sounded to signal the interval.

A knock-on by Stack straight from the restart may have left some on the terraces scratching their heads as to whether this would be Barrow's day, but they got their answer on 45 minutes when Tom Walker rampaged through the defence for the Raiders' fifth try.

Two superb pieces of individual skill from two of Walker's fellow interchange men then put the home side in the ascendancy; the first coming when James Duerden somehow managed to get the ball down when it looked like he had been held up over the line by three defenders and the second when Dan Abram dummied and jinked his way over from a play-the-ball.

Stack's runs and offloads then set up Charnock and Bullock for their first tries, along with Toal for his third, with prop Bullock and half-back Charnock completing the rout as the Raiders racked up a half-century of points for the third game in succession.

Their 11th-straight win also helped them into the final of this competition for the first time, where they will face North Wales Crusaders – 37-28 victors over University of Gloucestershire All Golds in yesterday's other semi-final – on Saturday, May 27.

There may still be four games to come before then, including Leeds Rhinos in the Challenge Cup and the trip to Toronto Wolfpack in the league, but plenty will already be dreaming of that trip to Blackpool and hopefully lifting some silverware.

Barrow Raiders: Ryan Fieldhouse 8; Shane Toal 8, Declan Hulme 7, Andy Litherland 7, Luke Cresswell 7; Lewis Charnock 7, Brad Marwood 7; Joe Bullock 7, Nathan Mossop 7, Ollie Wilkes 7, Dan Toal 8, Jarrad Stack 8, Martin Aspinwall 7. Interchange: Dan Abram 8, Tom Walker 7, James Duerden 7, Brad Brennan 8.

Oxford: Kane Riley; Jordan Gill, Curtis McDonald, Marcus Brooker, Thomas Newbould; Callum Windley, Scott Fleming; Stuart Biscomb, Casey Canterbury, Dwain McRae, Harvey Bennett, William Cooke, Anthony Cox. Interchange: Bradley Moyles, Mark Hayes, Aaron Nicholson, Jordan Siddons.

Referee: Luke Moore.

Attendance: 962.

Playback: 4 – Fieldhouse try (4-0); 7 – Canterbury try (4-4); 9 – S Toal try, Charnock con (10-4); 24 – Gill try, Fleming con (10-10); 32 – S Toal try (14-10); 38 – Brennan try, Charnock con (20-10); 40 – Fleming try (20-14); 45 – Walker try (24-14); 49 – Duerden try, Charnock con (30-14); 55 – Abram try, Charnock con (36-14); 63 – Charnock try and con (42-14); 66 – Bullock try, Charnock con (48-14); 69 – S Toal try (52-14); 76 – Charnock try and con (58-16); 78 – Bullock try, Marwood con (64-14).

Raiders star man: Jarrad Stack: Produced a number of assists for tries following some trademark strong carries and was his usual industrious self in defence.