Just reflecting on last night's game, I think we lost because we did not, or could not, play our normal passing game and were bullied by Barrow all over the pitch. Our passing moves generally broke down with the second or third pass, with the result that the game became scrappy and disjointed, as Barrow wanted it to. To be honest, I have not seen a team in years as uninterested in playing football in midfield as the opposition yesterday: everything was hit long, with the result that Hughes was a passenger in midfield. Equally, Jay Harris did not provide the physical presence we needed and was probably lucky to stay on the pitch after making several rash challenges.
All that said, for sixty minutes we were in control without playing particularly well. The arrival of the Barrow substitutes and the foul on Davies for the equaliser were obviously turning points, but we also had a one-on-one situation at the end of the first half, where Norwood set up Cook who uncharacteristically did not finish the chance. If we had scored then we would have won the game.
As Micky has said in his interview, the lack of reaction to the equaliser was the concern. We never looked like getting back in the game from that point onwards and basically allowed ourselves to be bullied by the opposition for the final thirty minutes.
I would agree with those above that our title chances are over, which is almost a relief in a way. Hopefully we will reach Wembley in ten day's time and have at least a couple of players back in time for the play-offs.
