Graham Murphy's been up to his tricks again. Can't find the ground, late for the kick-off. You know, the usual sad, pathetic excuses. This is what happened when he went to Chorley early in 1995-96...
CHORLEY 2 BARROW 3 UniBond League Premier Division 22 August 1995 by Graham Murphy
Welcome back, fellow eternal optimists! To a new season bright with promise and expectation! After a dismal 1994-95 season which left Barrow poised on the brink of eternal non-League oblivion, it's time to take one more step forward (er, are you sure that 's the way you wanted to say it? Ed.). But we start every season like this. New players; everything will be better, won't it? We'll start playing football and win more games than we lose. And we'll be up there with the NPL challengers, fighting for that precious promotion spot to the Conference. In our dreams, fellow supporters, in our dreams. But perhaps the dream is turning into reality. I don't know about you, but I couldn't believe the Knowsley result. 7-0? Surely some mistake here. Did it really happen? Was it a fluke? So I travelled to Chorley in a state of eager anticipation. Not to mention a slight fever of excitement. And a tingle of apprehension (Get on with it! Ed). I knew things would be different when I got there five minutes after the kick off and I was still in time to get a programme. This is an unheard of phenomenon. And lo it is sayeth by Prescient Peg, the old hag who lives on Birkrigg, that when the programmes don't run out but Poaka Beck Reservoir runs dry, Barrow will have a football team worthy of the name. And it's true. For this eleven is no collection of nonentities and has-beens from the lower reaches of non-League. There are some very good footballers amongst them. This was apparent when Barrow scored their third goal after 72 minutes. Kennedy (John, not Alan, Ray Eddie, Bobby, Edward, Kevin or Jackie) played a superb ball out of his own goal area to most-expensive-signing-ever Morton on the halfway line. Morton back headed the ball over to Dobie on the right and raced forward for the return pass, which he received as he entered the penalty area. With three defenders closing in, Morton knocked the ball over to the unmarked Hoskin on the left of the area and with Marsh out of position, he had the net at his mercy. Ashley (Bob) Hoskin, bald head shining in the glare of the floodlights and fresh from the BT adverts, found that it was good to score and raised his arms in celebration. This made it 3-0 and underlined the extent to which Barrow had dominated this match, ever since Todhunter's header from a free kick, awarded for a foul on Morton, had made it 1-0 on the half hour. Chorley had scarcely had a look-in since Harrold had cleared off the line with Deegan beaten, and Deegan had made a wonderful save from a Critchley shot which came off him through a forest of legs. Both of these incidents had occurred in the first twenty minutes and Barrow's second goal on the hour put the game beyond Chorley's reach. A looping header by Parker was too high for Marsh to reach. As soon as Harrold had got the measure of Ross, Chorley's multi-million pound close season signing from Marine, and marked him out of the game, the heart went out of Chorley's attack. Their midfield continued to get the ball forward, but they couldn't get it to Ross. Harrold kept him quiet while Parker took care of everything in the air. They were ably supported by Speak and Kennedy. Barrow's midfield of Brown, Humphries, Hoskin and Todhunter directed plenty of balls to Dobie and Morton up front (a noticeable change from last season when midfield was often non-existent) and it just seemed like a question of when Barrow would score again. But suddenly, a reminder of last season came back to haunt us as the Barrow team seemed to stop playing and allowed Chorley back into the game. On 77 minutes, McDonald made it 3-1 from a corner. Then, six minutes later, it was 3-2 as Emerson scored from another corner which Deegan should really have cut out before it reached the Chorley player. Here we go again. It's bite your nails time. Could Barrow hold on to the three points for the last five minutes? Last season's team would have folded, and probably conceded another two goals. But this year they're made of sterner stuff. Harrold and Parker shored up the defence, Humphries and Morton sorted out midfield and Chorley never had a sniff of a third goal. Our nails weren't too badly damaged after all. Ventre came on for Todhunter between Chorley's first and second goals and Horrigan replaced Hoskin with two minutes to go. The referee blew for time, and Barrow's travelling support saluted the players' efforts with a three minute ovation. This was a strong performance by a Barrow team that looks as though it contains three or four genuinely classy players. Watch out. We could be going places this season. Originally appeared as 'The First Away Match of the Season' in issue 024 - January 1996