Pete Wild celebrates ‘great week’ with Barrow’s victory at Newport

Posted Sunday, September 18, 2022 by PA

Barrow boss Pete Wild celebrated his new contract with a 2-0 win at Newport that lifted his side into second in the Sky Bet League Two table.

Wild and assistant manager Adam Temple, who only took charge in May, signed a new deal in midweek after a stunning start to the season and they claimed their seventh win in nine league games with a comfortable victory at Rodney Parade.

The hosts dominated possession and were unfortunate to go in 1-0 down after Josh Gordon bundled home after racing on to a ball over the top in the final minute of the half.

“I thought that’s the worst we’ve played in the first half,” said Wild.

“We sat off them too much and we were sloppy with the football. I had to have a pop at them for the first time this season. We had to raise our levels and we did that in the second half.”

Gordon sealed another three points with a coolly-taken penalty after 59 minutes following a foul in the box by Hayden Lindley on Robbie Gotts.

“It’s been a great week! If Carlsberg did weeks, I think this would be it,” added Wild.

“On the bus drive down, you’d have thought we were going on a stag do because of the camaraderie and the unity in the group.

“And there was a game of cards on Friday night, which involved most of the staff and the players, and it went on for two hours – that just shows the togetherness and if they’re like that off the pitch it shows on the pitch.”

While the Bluebirds are flying high, there was only frustration for Exiles manager James Rowberry and his side.

They were booed off by the home fans after a sixth defeat in nine games left them 19th in the table, and Rowberry could not hide his anger after the match.

“Ultimately, we’ve not been good enough in both boxes,” he said.

“You can talk about tactics and formations, but you can’t legislate for individual errors and it’s a massive frustration for me at the minute.

“The first goal is a perfect example of what we’ve been doing and the goals we’ve conceded – a routine kick that we should be dealing with, and we have dealt with for 44 minutes.

“To be 1-0 down at half-time is harsh, but we conceded a poor goal. We’re conceding really sloppy goals and I can’t put my finger on why.

“For the penalty Hayden showed his inexperience, and he recognises that. He’s running away from goal, and he doesn’t need to go sliding in.

“And we didn’t really create enough after that. We had the ball a lot but didn’t create enough.”