Barrow bowed out of the FA Cup after being beaten on penalties following a First Round stalemate with AFC Wimbledon at The Progression Solicitors Stadium.
The Bluebirds gave as good as they got during the a hard-fought encounter during which neither side could find a route to goal, even after 30 minutes of extra time.
However, it was the visitors who held their nerve from the spot to overcome David Dunn’s men 4-2 in the shootout to book a Second Round tie at home to Crawley Town on Sunday.
The visitors began the game on the front foot and carved out the first chance inside a minute when a free-kick in to the box dropped loose to Will Nightingale but the defender fired an effort wide.
The game was still only three minutes old when The Dons engineered another opening as Ethan Chislett met Jack Rudoni’s cross but his header deflected wide before Ollie Palmer then nodded wastefully over from the resultant corner.
The Bluebirds’ first chance came through Josh Kay who cut inside from the right wing to shoot but his effort did not have the power to really trouble Nik Tzanev in the Wimbledon goal.
Dimitri Sea almost marked his full debut with a wonderful goal on 20 minutes when he showed good strength to hold off a Dons defender on the edge of the box before unleashing a powerful, curling effort which flashed just wide of the left-hand post with Tzanev reduced to spectating.
The Frenchman came even closer to opening his Barrow account seven minutes before the break when he was found at the end of a rapid counter-attack and unloaded a ferocious drive from twenty yards which crashed back off the right-hand post.
It was a cagey start to the second half but it was The Dons who came out of their shells first when a ball was fed in to Chislett at the front post but his goalbound shot was blocked behind for a corner by Sam Hird.
The visitors continued to threaten and Chislett spurned a decent chance to put them in front when a deep corner from the left dropped in to his path but he blazed a wild shot well over the bar from eight yards.
At the other end Jayden Reid engineered an opportunity for himself twenty yards out and he unleashed a powerful drive
As time ran out there were big calls for a Barrow penalty when Angus sprinted on to a brilliant long ball from Callum Gribbin and cut inside in to the area before going to ground but referee Seb Stockbridge waved away the appeals.
There was nearly a sting in the tail at the end of stoppage time when Wimbledon pulled a corner from the training ground and Antony Hartigan arrived on cue to meet the pull-back but his effort flew just over Lillis’ cross bar to send the game in to the extra time.
The Dons began to get on top during the first period of extra time and could have gone in front when Nightingale let fly from long-range to try and catch Lillis out but the keeper got down well to parry the surprise effort and Hird cleared the rebound.
Joe Pigott then found enough room on the edge of the box to fire just over, while Chris Taylor had a half-chance for Barrow when he worked an opening only to see it blocked well by a defender.
The biggest chance of the second period fell to Rudoni, who did well to hold off the Barrow defenders on the right side of the box but then drove a low shot across goal and wide.
Penalty Shootout
Dior Angus - Missed (0-0)
Ryan Longman – Scored (0-1)
Scott Quigley – Missed (0-1)
Shane McLoughlin – Scored (0-2)
Josh Kay – Scored (1-2)
Steve Seddon – Scored (1-3)
Patrick Brough – Scored (2-3)
Jack Rudoni – Scored (2-4)
Full Time: Barrow 0 AFC Wimbledon 0 (AFC Wimbledon win 4-2 on penalties)
Barrow: Lillis, Zouma (Brough 77), Wilson, Hird, Ntlhe (Brown 91), Kay, C Taylor, Gribbin, Sea (James 71), Angus, Reid (Quigley 86).
Subs not used: Moloney, J Taylor, Biggins.
Booked: Gribbin, Hird, Kay.
AFC Wimbledon: Tzanev, Csoka, Woodyard, Nightingale, Thomas, Alexander (McLoughlin 90), Hartigan, Palmer (Pigott 65), Chislett (Longman 90), Rudoni, Guinness-Walker (Seddon 115).
Subs not used: Cox, Kalambayi, Reilly.
Booked: Nightingale, Palmer, Guinness-Walker.
Referee: Seb Stockbridge
Attendance: Behind Closed Doors