So what happened against Wigan? Well, this is what happened...
FA CUP RETROSPECTIVE 1995 The Big Match
Well, it didn't quite turn out like that, did it? But at half time and with the score still 0-0 we had every expectation that it would. It wasn't a particularly good first half, but the ambitions of the visitors were clearly revealed in all their professional ugliness; play for the draw. Wigan's time wasting at set pieces was an art in itself, and was something you rarely see in the non-League world. And this was still the first half, remember. And with their five man defence dominating much of the play, there wasn't much to write home about. Hesketh had selected his first choice squad, with the exception of the cup tied Smith. So Speak, Harold, Parker and John Kennedy lined up in front of Deegan; Todhunter, Humphries, Kenny and Hoskin were in midfield; and Dobie and Morton played up front. Ventre, Foley and Eddie Kennedy were the men on the bench. As the match got under way some of Barrow's players had clearly let the occasion get to them, though who can blame them? Deegan made a series of five uncharacteristic punches away from his goal line when he would normally have caught the ball; John Kennedy was well below his best; and Hoskin got plenty of the ball for a change but couldn't seem to gain any effectiveness with it. Barrow's chances all were all wide of the target. Dobie after five minutes following a superb through ball by Billy Kenny; Humphries had the ball taken off his toe just as he prepared to shoot after a storming run into the penalty area; and from a Kenny free kick, Humphries, Hoskin and Morton all had shots beaten away by the Wigan defence. But Barrow were not pressurising the Wigan defence as they needed to. This was partly the result of a referee who gave fouls against Barrow, but ignored the same offences when committed by Wigan players. The ref only seemed to have an interest in writing down the names of the Barrow side. Hoskin was first in only the second minute for a late tackle. Then it was Speak for the same offence. John Kennedy was next for disputing a decision. And finally, not to be left out, Billy Kenny threw the ball away when yet another free kick went Wigan's way and collected his second booking in three games. Neil Morton later complained about the referee when Radio Cumbria spoke to him after the game. Asked about some of his more bizarre decisions, Neil revealed that at one point in the match the ref had said to him something along the lines of "I'm not putting up with any of your non-League antics today." Regardless of questions of impartiality, it certainly gave an insight into the attitude of this particular referee, and while it may be applicable to the Nuneatons of this world, such a sweeping generalisation from a senior official really is appalling. But aside from that, Barrow also showed a dangerous liking for giving the ball away. So many moves broke down when the final pass went astray. They played some nice stuff through the middle, but couldn't exert any real pressure on Wigan's defence. Despite this, Wigan had only one clear chance, but Deegan was on hand to push the header over the bar. We changed ends at half time. Yes, it wasn't that crowded. Once again, police over-reaction deprived the club of the revenue of another thousand people on the gate. Just as they tried to deprive local publicans of their income by asking them to close the pubs. Nice to see Cumbria Constabulary on the ball again. I wonder how many houses were broken into or how many petty thefts there were while the police cordoned off Holker St. for the afternoon. Barrow were straight on the attack from the restart, and a nice move by Kenny and Hoskin saw the former's shot deflected into the goalie's arms. Kenny found Hoskin wide on the left with a superb 30 yard pass. Ash moved forward and passed inside to John Kennedy but his shot was saved. Then from a Hoskin corner Todhunter put the ball over the bar. Hoskin had a run down the wing. Morton beat the defender, but his shot was wide. This was better. Pressure them. Keep coming at 'em. They won't like it up 'em! But at half time we'd thought that Wigan might come out a bit more, now that they'd had a good look at Barrow's style of play. And we were not wrong. After fifteen minutes of Barrow pressure, Wigan's Diaz broke quickly from midfield, and before we knew what was happening, the ball was cannoning off Deegan's left hand post and into the back of the net . Come on, lads. Heads up! It's not finished yet! But it had. Five minutes later the tricky Leonard broke free from Harold and Parker and gave Deegan no chance with his shot. DON'T LET YOUR HEADS DROP, BARROW! C'MON! A tussle in Barrow's goalmouth after a corner led to a booking for Wigan's Pender. Then Billy Kenny let fly from 25 yards and the ball whistled just wide of the top corner. Parker's header from Todhunter's corner had a similar fate, and Hoskin's shot from the next corner was also too high. But the floodgates were crumbling. Deegan saved well from Leonard but the ball fell to Diaz who had the easiest of tasks in making it 3-0. Two minutes later, that man Leonard headed against the bar and Wigan were fortunate enough to see the ball rebound to Martinez who made it 4-0 and put the final nail in Barrow's FA Cup coffin for this season. Diaz was substituted, and Hezza put Foley and Eddie Kennedy on for Todhunter and John Kennedy. Wigan let Barrow come at them for the last fifteen minutes and both Dobie and Humphries went close, but not close enough. As the poet has it, "When all the roads that get you there are winding, And all the lights that lead the way are blinding." Four-nil was not a fair reflection of this game. 2-1 to Wigan would have been more reasonable, and a better indication of Barrow's share of the play. The last two Wigan goals came from rebounds which fortunately fell to their attackers rather than Barrow's defenders. Their players were quicker and fitter, but that is to be expected. They're full time professionals after all. But Barrow can be pleased to have held them on equal terms for an hour. If Barrow's players had not been quite so overawed by the occasion, we may well have sneaked it, for Wigan were very negative in the first half. But that's the way it goes in football. We should be happy we got as far as we did. From the First Qualifying Round to Second Round Proper is no mean achievement. And let's put a stop to some of the criticism one or two supporters were making when the goals started to go in. Can't pass, can't defend, useless! For Cowps's sake! It was a league outfit we were up against, not a Droylsden or a Knowsley. And 4-0 or no 4-0, the lads thoroughly deserved the ovation we gave them at the end. But I was disappointed as I left the ground. Bitterly. I really thought we'd do it this time. Then my musings were disrupted by flashing lights and sirens as the junction of Holker St., Devonshire Rd. and Wilkie Rd. turned into Beirut and Sarajevo. The police van blocked the road completely. Alsatians leapt at the end of their leads as their handlers stood stoically to attention awaiting their orders. Police filed down Holker St. heading for something that I couldn't see. Was all this really necessary? For 3,500 people? Do the police understand football crowds, or do they just have a knee jerk reaction whenever more than six people gather together in one place? By all means find the real troublemakers and put them in the back of a Black Maria. But it doesn't need an operation on the scale of Desert Storm to do that. Still, a great day. Back to the league now. Dream about next year's Cup run and get well and truly rat-@®$£¶ tonight... Issue 024 - January 1996