APRIL

A LAST-gasp penalty kick from Jamie Dallimore saw Barrow Raiders snatch a point in a 16-16 draw at home to Swinton Lions on Easter Monday.

Meanwhile, Barrow AFC’s 3-1 defeat at home to AFC Fylde saw some of the Bluebirds players confront each other after the full-time whistle.

Great Britain team-member Grant Omerod led the way in the Ulverston Triathlon, completing the race in 1hr 12mins 17secs. Ulverstonian Chris Joyce was just over a minute and a half behind him in third.

Further afield, Bermudan triathlete Flora Duffy – who has family connections to Barrow – won the women’s triathlon at the Commonwealth Games.

A 4-1 defeat at Leyton Orient saw AFC slip further into the mire, while the Raiders endured a tough weekend in France too, going down 50-4 away to Toulouse Olympique.

The Barrow Bridge Club team of Margaret Thornley, Christine Ward, Graeme Walker, Trevor Ward and Colin Woods won the Cumbria Teams Trophy.

There was some respite for the Bluebirds as they secured a first home win for 164 days, defeating Eastleigh 3-2, with Asa Hall, Donovan Makoma and Lewis Walters getting the goals for the hosts.

Cartmel trainer James Moffatt was forced to declare Aintree specialist Highland Lodge a non-runner for the Topham Chase, with the 12-year-old being withdrawn with a veterinary certificate.

The Raiders suffered their first home defeat since May 2016 when they were beaten 38-26 by Featherstone Rovers, with the match level at 22-22 with 15 minutes to go.

AFC were brought back down to earth on their own patch too, being edged out 1-0 by Ebbsfleet United.

A 2-0 win over Vickerstown reserves saw Hawcoat Park crowned Furness Premier League Premier Division champions after a season which began with a 7-0 defeat to Kirkby United.

Barrow snooker player Kyle Brown bowed out of the county championship in the semi-final after suffering a 3-1 defeat to eventual winner Garry Carruthers in the last eight.

Former Barrow rugby league player turned mixed martial arts champion Brett McDermott made his boxing debut on a charity show in Ulverston, scoring a points victory over wily journeyman Jody Meikle.

Four tries from Jodie Litherland helped Barrow Island Ladies kick off the RFL Women’s Championship season with an impressive 26-20 victory over Wigan St Patricks.

But the Raiders bowed out of the Challenge Cup after a 16-12 defeat to Toronto, having led 12-10 at half time with the decisive score seeing the Wolfpack’s Nick Rawsthorne race in from his own half.

Off the field, the club mourned the death of Roy Haggerty, who enjoyed a short but memorable spell at Craven Park after leaving St Helens, where he made his name as one of their all-time greats.

Furness made a flying start to the North Lancashire & Cumbria Cricket League season, crushing Lindal Moor by 263 runs. However, Barrow’s Northern League opener ended in a six-wicket defeat away to Blackpool.

Furness Raiders trio Jonny Hutton, Charlie Emslie and Elliot Campbell were all called into Scotland under-19s’ squad for the Bravehearts’ summer internationals.

The month ended with AFC pulling off a last-day survival bid in the Vanarama National League, despite losing 2-1 at home to Chester. Dover beating Woking by the same scoreline ensured their status in the division.

MAY

THERE was no fairy-tale ending for departing head coach Darren Carter or those Furness Raiders players in their final season of under-19s rugby league as they were beaten 34-16 by Wakefield College in the AoC National Cup final at Craven Park.

Millom AFC had two reasons to celebrate after lifting the Furness Senior Cup with a 1-0 win over Walney Island and then clinching promotion to West Lancashire League Division One.

Up-and-coming Barrow featherweight Ross Cooksey chalked up the fifth win of his professional career after beating Ricky Starkey on points.

In the amateur code, Furness Catholic’s Lochlan Gosling was crowned North West Schoolboys Champion after defeating Chorley’s Zia Sohail in the final.

Roose Pioneers were crowned Frank Reid Trophy winners as well, overcoming Walney Central 30-10 thanks to a superb second-half performance.

The rebuilding process began at Barrow AFC as Byron Harrison, Harry Panayiotou, Thierry Audel, David Fitzpatrick, Bradley Bauress and Tony Diagne were all released, along with Asa Hall, Dan Jones, Jordan White, Jack Barthram and Bedsente Gomis being transfer-listed.

Barrow Raiders returned to form by scoring 10 tries in a 58-32 victory at home to Dewbury Rams. They followed that up with a repeat of their home match against Swinton Lions, drawing 22-22 at Heywood Road thanks to a last-minute penalty from Jamie Dallimore.

However, their trip to Blackpool for the Summer Bash saw them fall to a 38-22 defeat at the hands of a Cory Aston-inspired Sheffield Eagles.

There were more end-of-season prizes being handed out on the football field too, with Crooklands Casuals reserves winning the Horne Cup, Kirkby United lifting the Paul Wilson Memorial Trophy and Hawcoat Park A triumphing in the Furness Junior Cup.

Ady Pennock departed as AFC manager, having been in place since October when he was appointed as Micky Moore’s replacement. Assistant Jamie Day left too, taking up the position of head coach of the Bangladesh national team.

Richard Wilson, of Keswick AC, triumphed in the Dalton Charter 10k road race. Hoad Hill Harriers’ Amy Whelan took victory in the ladies’ race.

JUNE

Jack Hindle, Josh Granite and Astley Mulholland became the first new players to be recruited by Barrow AFC ahead of the 2018/19 season, although the club were still on the lookout for a new manager.

Shropshire bowler Callum Wraight made his trip up to South Cumbria worth it as he defeated Matt Gillies in the final of the BIG Smash competition at Dalton CC.

Barrow Island broke a long-standing club record for their highest score as they stormed to a 90-12 victory at home to Stanley Rangers in National Conference League Division Three.

Gene Ormsby was granted a release from his contract with Barrow Raiders just three months after joining them due to struggling with the travelling commitments. At AFC, transfer-listed striker Jordan White also departed, returning to his native Scotland with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Long-serving Lindal Moor spinner John Atkinson broke seamer Ray Herman’s record of 1,062 wickets after nearly three decades playing for the Pennington Lane club.

Tom Martin set the fourth-fastest time in Barrow Central Wheelers’ Coast Road 10-mile time trial, completing the course in 21min 49sec to secure victory.

Carus Green trio Janet Ingham, Avril Standing and Irene Wharton were victorious in this year’s Ulverston Golf Club Ladies’ June Open.

The injury-hit Raiders boosted their chances of staying in the Betfred Championship with a home win over Rochdale Hornets, and received further good news with the signings of back Jonny Pownall on loan from Toronto Wolfpack. However, they are still only able to field a squad of 15 players in the 52-4 defeat at Featherstone Rovers.

The injury problems became so bad that Chris Fleming offered to come out of retirement and played for the team in their away game in Toronto, while Barrow Island amateur Ben Garner flew out to help as well.

AFC’s search for a new manager came to an end when former Blackpool and Chesterfield defender Ian Evatt is appointed to the role. It was his first full-time managerial role after a short spell as caretaker boss at the Spireites.

He further strengthened his squad for the coming season by signing forward Jacob Blyth and midfielder Josh Kay.

But there was further problems for the Raiders as the month ended with chairman David Sharp revealing the club were facing a financial crisis which threatened its future.