This Saturday, Salop make their way to Holker Street for the first time in over 50 years for a competitive league encounter.

Here is everything you need to know about our opposition ahead of the weekend’s long drive.  

Key Players 

Midfielder Isaac Fletcher has made an instant impact since returning from injury for the Bluebirds. The former Spennymoor man has two goals and an assist in his last two matches, helping his team secure back-to-back wins over Crewe and Crawley.  

Experienced front-man Josh Gordon has also returned to the starting line-up in the last few matches, bagging his first goal of the season in last weekend’s 2-1 win away at Crawley.  

32-year-old Tom Barkhuizen joined Andy Whing’s side in the summer and has made his presence felt in the middle of the park. The former Derby man has started every game for the Bluebirds so far this season and has been one of their standout players.  

The Manager 

Former Oxford and Coventry defender Andy Whing is the man in the dugout for Barrow. Barrow is Whing’s first job in the Football League, following successful spells at Banbury United and Solihull Moors over the last five seasons.  

Whing came agonisingly close to securing a first-ever promotion to the Football League at Solihull, with his team losing on penalties at Wembley to Bromley. They would then endure penalty heartache at the national stadium once again, just one week later, losing to Gateshead in the FA Trophy final.  

Whing was appointed as Barrow manager in January following the departure of Stephen Clemence. 

Form  

After losing six of their opening eight games, Barrow fans will hope they have turned a corner in recent weeks. The Bluebirds have won their last two matches, defeating Crewe 1-0 in their last home match and Crawley 2-1 away last weekend.  

They currently sit 17th in the league on 12 points. Despite being lower down the table, they have been in good form in front of goal, only failing to score once in their last six outings.  

Head-to-Head Record  

Saturday will be our first competitive encounter with Barrow since the 2002/03 season, when we defeated them 3-1 in the FA Cup second round. You have to go back 55 years for our last league encounter with The Bluebirds, a 2-0 loss at Holker Street. Our last win against them was in 1968, a 1-0 win at Gay Meadow. Our Overall record against Barrow is five wins, five losses, and two draws.