One of the reasons Barrow AFC have put together their magnificent run in the National League is their newly-acquired habit of winning when not at their best, which has pleased manager Ian Evatt.

Last Saturday’s 1-0 victory at home to Aldershot Town falls under the same category of the games against Dagenham & Redbridge and Sutton United, in which they also claimed the three points despite not hitting top gear.

While the Bluebirds played well enough to more than deserve the win against the Shots, there was some frustration at the final whistle due to them letting too many chances slip away in the second half.

However, there was also the feeling that it was the sort of match in which they would have dropped points in last season when opponents sometimes capitalised on AFC’s profligacy.

Evatt said: “We’ve deserved that bit of luck and the rub of the green. Joel [Dixon] has probably only had one save to make in the whole game, and it was an important one.

"We’re still creating plenty of chances at the other end and I thought the way we pressed and our work ethic in the conditions was excellent.

“It was just that final decision, that bit of composure in the opposition’s box that wasn’t quite there on Saturday, but having said that it’s another three points towards our target and we’ve got a week away from the league, so it was important we we got that win, especially with results elsewhere.

“We’ll keep ticking off results, we’ll keep ticking off three points when we can take them. It’s not easy to win football matches at this level, so you can’t take results for granted, you’ve got to earn every result and I thought we did that on Saturday.”

Although the Bluebirds were unable to extend it, their lead against Aldershot didn’t really feel under threat in the closing stages, as they remained on the front foot, rather than drop back, as they did in their previous home win against Barnet two weeks ago.

Evatt was pleased with how AFC saw out the game, but would rather have been able to relax as the game reached its conclusion.

He said: “We’ve just got to take our chances because if we take our chances it gives our back three a bit of a breather and relief for the last ten minutes, but other than that I thought we saw it out quite comfortably.

“It’s just down to the final decision, that bit of composure in the final third. Once we get there we’ve just got to make sure we choose the right option, whether that’s to pass, to cross or to shoot, and we didn’t take that right decision on Saturday.”