The Bluebirds are back at the SO Legal Stadium for another massive clash against Harrogate Town as they look to continue their excellent form.
In their previous fixture, Barrow earned a valuable point against Walsall on Tuesday night, at the Poundland Bescot Stadium.
Taking a look back on the game, both sides created plenty of chances to win the game however, Paul Farman put on a phenomenal display to secure a point for the Cumbrians, putting in a Man Of The Match performance.
The game saw Barrow put the ball in the net twice, with Cole Stockton’s finish pulled back for a foul and a penalty awarded for a challenge on Emile Acquah. This resulted in Dean Campbell dispatching away neatly, scoring his fourth goal of the campaign.
Team News
Pete Wild will have a near full squad to choose from going into the game, with Jamie Proctor and Junior Tiensa back from suspension and injury.
However, Niall Canavan is missing through a calf injury.
The Opposition
Harrogate currently sits in 14th place in Sky Bet League Two, under the current guidance of manager, Simon Weaver.
Weaver has been in charge of The Sulphurites for 15 years, taking the helm of the club in 2009, and has since guided them from the National League North to the EFL. Last season the Yorkshire side escaped relegation by nine points, finishing in 19th place. In their last five games, the side has picked up two points from two draws and three losses. Their most recent result came away to Wrexham, where they held the side positioned in third place, to a 0-0 draw and took a valuable point back to Yorkshire.
A star player the Cumbrian supporters should watch out for coming into the game, is attacker and top scorer, George Thomson. Since joining the Yorkshire side back in 2017, Thomson has gone on to spend seven years at the club and has played with them throughout their promotions to the EFL, from National League North. While at the club, he has made over 300 appearances whilst scoring 53 goals and assisting 25 times. So far this season he has made 40 appearances with 34 coming in the league he’s scored 11 and assisted four goals in the league this season so far.
Head-to-Head
Barrow last faced The Sulphurites at Holker Street back in August 2022, when the Bluebirds were pushing for a spot in the playoffs. In a match that was evenly balanced between both sides, the home made the breakthrough with the only goal of the game, coming just before halftime through the star man, Josh Gordon.
The two sides have already met once this season back at the EnviroVent Stadium in September 2023. With the game being evenly balanced, The Sulphurites obtained 53% possession, whilst Barrow maintained 47%. However, the Bluebirds created the better chances and were rewarded for their efforts with their first, and the only goal of the game, when Kian Spence scored within the first 25 minutes from close range, to give the Cumbrians the lead and secure all three points.
Referee
The man taking charge of Saturday’s match is Ed Duckworth. Duckworth has taken charge of 22 fixtures this season, all of which have come across League One, League Two, and the EFL Cup. He has also handed out a total of 94 yellow cards and five red cards this season.
He has never refereed a match containing the Bluebirds, having only refereed 11 League Two fixtures. His previous match was last Tuesday when he officiated a match between Carlisle United and Barnsley. A five-goal thriller in which he punished three Barnsley players with yellow cards, the Tykes won the game however, with Jonathan Russell scoring in the final 15 minutes to win the game for the Yorkshire side.
Alongside Duckworth, he will be joined by Simon Clayton and Ivan Stankovic, who will be assistant referees in Saturday’s clash. With Darren Williams taking the role of Fourth Official.
Words by Dylan Whitbread
