Assistant manager Peter Atherton admitted Barrow AFC keep on making their own problems, after they fell to a dispiriting 3-0 defeat against Eastleigh at Holker Street.

The Bluebirds crashed to their sixth loss in a row, in all competitions, as the Spitfires won at a canter, with the home side taking until the 64th minute to muster a shot on target.

While they’ve played worse in periods of matches this season, this was arguably as poorly as they’ve played across 90 minutes under manager Ian Evatt, for whom this was his heaviest defeat in charge.

The match bore a worrying resemblance to the previous home game, against Barnet, three weeks ago, as Barrow heads seemed to visibly drop after going behind, with them unable to recapture their early spark.

Atherton said: “We’re very disappointed. We started the game quite well, but we conceded a terrible goal 15 minutes in.

“Again, that goal gives the opposition something to hang on to and it gives them a lift and it’s quite demoralising for ourselves.

“Then we concede a second goal from a set-piece and we’re just giving ourselves uphill battles all the time.”

The changes Evatt made in the second half did improve the Bluebirds somewhat, but by the time they took effect the match was already over as a contest, as Eastleigh added their killer third three minutes after the restart.

As a result, his side are now just three points off the National League relegation zone and on their worst run of form for over six years, going into next week’s clash at Aldershot Town.

Atherton said: “We knew what Eastleigh are about – delivering crosses and getting bodies in the box – and two-and-a-half minutes into the second half, the ball comes into the box, there’s an unmarked header.

“That puts us 3-0 down and just kills the momentum of what we said at half-time, how we want to go about the second half, trying to get a goal back and get some momentum.

“But the third goal kicks us back down and we have to rally and the lads have passed and probed and tried to do something, but on the day we weren’t good enough.”