Richard Dryden says Barrow have to improve in front of goal

Posted Sunday, January 02, 2022 by PA

Barrow assistant manager Richard Dryden insists his side need to start taking their chances after a 2-1 home defeat to Bradford.

The Bantams took home the points thanks to goals from Lee Angol and ex-Bluebird Andy Cook, despite Josh Gordon pulling one back for the hosts.

And Dryden admitted conceding too many and not scoring enough has been a continuing theme for Barrow this term.

“We could make a recording of that game and it’s the same for most games,” he said.

“We played well, created chances and not put them away and that’s why we’re getting more and more frustrated with every game.

“We dominated that game, we must have had 60 or 70 per cent possession and had something like 18 shots on goal. We’ve had lots of balls going across the box too, they’re the ones that we need to be tapping in.

“We get good teams camped back in their half when we’re dominating but we need to be scoring some of these chances if we’re going to start winning games.

“It is frustrating because we’re not getting outplayed or outfought, we’re just conceding too many goals or not scoring enough.”

Barrow could count themselves unfortunate to have a second goal from Gordon ruled out for a foul on Bradford keeper Sam Hornby, and Dryden felt referee Sebastian Stockbridge’s decision could easily have gone their way.

“If it was for us we’d expect it to be given because he’s got across the keeper and headed it,” he added.

“But it does look like he’s hit the keeper and as soon as the whistle went we knew it wasn’t going to be given.

“If it had been at the other end we’d have been screaming for a foul, though.”

Bradford boss Derek Adams felt his players – who played their first game in three weeks – showed fantastic character to withstand Barrow’s late barrage after Gordon’s goal and take their first win since October.

“I knew it was going to be a difficult afternoon,” he said. “Barrow had obviously been playing a lot of games when we didn’t and we haven’t had many days training.

“We had a number of players on the pitch today who had tested positive for the virus and we had an injured player coming back as well.

“We’re delighted we haven’t picked up any injuries. The ones who have had a tiredness or an illness we’ll assess again on Monday.

“I could have made another few substitutions because of the tiredness we’ve had throughout the squad because of the virus. Barrow left spaces but we just didn’t have the energy to get on the end of it.

“They showed great mentality – they had to to get that win. It was a massive test and the mentality and fighting spirit within the squad was excellent.

“We went 2-0 up soon after half-time and then gave away a goal we shouldn’t have. We only needed to have a five or 10-minute spell and that would have been game over.

“This is not an easy place to come to at the best of times. We showed great character to get the win that enables us to get closer to where we want to be.”