Barrow AFC have been defeated twice by FC Halifax Town this season and manager Ian Evatt is determined to not let the Yorkshiremen complete an unwanted hat-trick at Holker Street tomorrow.

The match is the Bluebirds’ first in two weeks, as they look to get back to winning ways after their eight-match unbeaten run in the National League was ended by Havant and Waterlooville in their last outing.

It is fair to say the haven’t had the breaks against Halifax in their previous two meetings, with defenders Brian Wilson and Matt Elsdon both getting injured in the 2-0 loss at The Shay in August.

Then last month, the Shaymen knocked AFC out of the FA Trophy despite being dominated during the second half of a contest that was played in dreadful wintery conditions.

Evatt said: “We kind of feel like we owe them two, not just one.

“I think we were probably the better team in the first game at their place earlier in the season, but we were done with two sloppy goals and then we get the home game in atrocious weather.

“We hit the post four or five times and it was more or less attack v defence, especially in the second half, and we weren’t clinical enough.

“We know it’s going to be difficult – they are resolute, they are strong, they’re good from set-pieces, but we need to be on our game.

“If we are and we get back to the energy levels that we showed in December, then I’m pretty positive that we’ll get the right result.”

Although Barrow’s players will have wanted a chance to put the result at Havant behind them sooner, it can be argued that the two-week break between fixtures came at a good time for them.

“I just think they were out on their feet,” Evatt said. “It’s easy to say, but we obviously analyse data and have GPS for a reason.

“In the GPS data from that game, not just one player but the whole team were down and down in quite large amounts from their usual consistent efforts, in terms of high-speed running, sprints, distance covered.

“When you marry the two together, you end up not getting the right result and with the long journey and the amount of games we had – I understand they had the same amount, but we had high intense, physical games against top, top teams, which we had to put a lot into.

“We’ve a small squad as well, so obviously that was one where it was one game too far, but this couple of weeks has given us a chance to freshen up again.”

There are also likely to be a couple of fresh faces involved, with new signings Sam Hird and Dior Angus set to make their debuts against Halifax.

Angus is the most recent arrival, having signed on loan until the end of the season from Port Vale on Tuesday, and Evatt is excited about what he’ll bring to his attack.

He said: “He’s a player I’ve been tracking for a long time now, for a good couple of months, since Tyler (Smith) left.

“He’s scored a hell of a lot of goals in the league below in a team that was struggling, which is a great sign.

“He’s used to this type of football, which is a physically demanding league, and he’s a big, physical specimen who can run like the wind and has real quality to match.

“It’s a real boost to us and we’re pretty pleased with that one.”