Jordan Stevens and Robbie Gotts were both on target as Barrow pulled off an FA Cup upset by easing past League One outfit Ipswich Town at The Dunes Hotel Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The ITV cameras turned up hoping to see a shock and they got what they wanted as The Bluebirds swept their higher division opponents aside with an impressive first half display.
Barrow looked the more aggressive right from the off and had the first sight of goal on six minutes when Josh Gordon escaped down the right but his shot from a tight angle flashed wide of the front post.
There was a nervous moment for the visitors when Gordon then nipped in front of a hesitant Town defender and went down under the challenge inside the area but the referee was well placed and uninterested.
The Bluebirds continued to dominate against their slumbering visitors though and went in front on 26 minutes. A wonderfully worked corner routine from the right saw Robbie Gotts pull the ball back into the path of Jordan Stevens and he lashed a shot towards goal which took a deflection off defender Idris El Mizouni as it flew into the top corner for 1-0.
It got even better for Mark Cooper’s dominant side when a wicked Stevens cross was whipped in from the right which caused total chaos in the Ipswich box and Gotts was in the right place to fire home from close range to double Barrow’s lead.
Ipswich made two substitutions and changed their shape at the break and came out with more determination. James Norwood prodded one effort wide within a minute of the restart and then substitute Luke Woolfenden sent a looping header just past Paul Farman’s post.
There was even more danger on 54 minutes when fellow substitute Sam Morsy unloaded with a shot from 25 yards which Farman did excellently to get down to - and even better to react quickest to pounce on the loose ball as Kayden Jackson waited for the scraps.
Barrow responded when a free kick from the left was only half cleared and was met beautifully on the volley by Ollie Banks, but his effort was blocked and then Stevens’ follow-up drive flashed just too high.
Ipswich’s early second half momentum began to fade, and the game became fragmented with a number of stoppages and substitutions more helpful to Barrow than their visitors.
The Bluebirds could have made the game safe on 87 minutes when Brough got forward to good effect and whipped a dangerous cross into the box which struck a defender and dropped towards goal but keeper Christian Walton pulled off a smart save.
Farman had work to do right at the start of injury time when he clawed away Pigott’s goalbound header and that cemented Barrow’s place in the Third Round for a 13th time in the Club’s history.
Full Time: Barrow 2 Ipswich Town 0
Barrow: Farman, Brown (Hutton 78), J Jones, Platt, Grayson, Brough, Banks, White, Gotts, Stevens (Kay 78), Gordon (Zanzala 82).
Subs not used: Lillis, Ellis, Beadling, Taylor, M Jones, James.
Ipswich Town: Walton, Penney, Norwood (Pigott 68), Fraser (Morsy 46), El Mizouni, Jackson, Nsiala (Donacien 75), Aluko (Chaplin 75), Vincent-Young, Carroll (Woolfenden 46), Burgess.
Subs not used: Hladky, Kenlock, Morris.
Booked: Morsy.
Referee: James Bell
Attendance: 2,756 (202 Ipswich Town)