The nicknames of the two teams are the same, but the surroundings for Barrow AFC’s match at Maidenhead United tomorrow couldn’t be much more different than their previous away game at Notts County.

Meadow Lane, with its near 20,000 capacity, is a Football League stadium in all but name and the Bluebirds enjoyed themselves on the grand stage, as they went top of the National League courtesy of their 3-0 win.

Maidenhead will admit their York Road ground, while it has its own charms, is a little more basic and the Magpies’ pitch acts as something of a leveller when the so-called bigger clubs in the division come to visit.

The Bluebirds struggled to adapt to its dry and bobbly nature when they last went to Berkshire in April and it’s likely they’ll be playing on a heavier surface this time around.

Manager Ian Evatt said: “It’s not going to be like our pitch, but if you want to challenge at the top end of leagues you have to go to different surfaces and different stadiums and perform all the same and find a way to win.

“We’ll be going there to do the same and hopefully we’ll have more players playing to their capabilities on Saturday than we had on Tuesday night [against Chorley].

“Having said that, we didn’t lose the game - we drew the game from 2-0 down, so we have to take credit for coming from behind and not quite getting there to get all three points, but probably shading it in the second half.”

The match against Chorley was a timely reminder for the Bluebirds that nothing comes easily in the National League, no matter where in the table you are.

Evatt’s side are well aware defending their one-point lead at the top of the table will not be an easy task against Maidenhead, who may lie 17th, but were buoyed by their enthralling 4-3 win at Dover in midweek.

Evatt said: “Maidenhead aren’t to be taken lightly - every team in this league is competitive and every team can win football matches and these games come down to fine margins.

“We’ve been on the better side of the fine margins in the last couple of months. On Tuesday, we got off to a bad start but we recovered well.

“My players are going to have to adapt to the conditions, but again to challenge at the top of the league you have to go to different places, have different scenarios and hopefully we will have more players playing like they can at Maidenhead than we did on Tuesday.”

The match against Chorley - funnily enough, also nicknamed the Magpies - was just the second time in 13 league games that AFC had dropped points and it arguably came at a time when expectations on them were at the highest they’ve been all season.

Evatt said: “You can’t play well every week and we’ve got to stop taking things for granted and taking wins for granted.

“It’s hard to win games in this league - yes, we’re on a fantastic run and we’ve won a lot of games, but don’t take it for granted because you’re not going to play well every week and when you don’t play well, you’ve got to draw.

“We drew on Tuesday night against a decent team, in my opinion. It is progress because we haven’t lost, it only felt like a loss because of the run we’ve been on.

“Everyone looks at the table and thinks you’ve got a divine right to win, but you’ve got to earn it.”