E.F.L. Trophy
Northern Section Group B
Tuesday 7th October 2025
Kick Off 19.30 On Time!
Barrow 1 Tranmere Rovers 2, attendance 581
9’ 1-0
22’ 1-1
80’ 1-2
@ SO Legal Stadium
Holker Street
Barrow-in-Furness
LA14 5UH
£10 Admission
No Programme, but Free Team Sheet available in Club Shop.
For the second successive night it was a 92 Club tidy up and another ground I’d only seen football hosted at when the club were outside the Football League. Having stayed overnight in Harrogate, I took the direct route of the A65, then A591 into Barrow-in-Furness, which took about two and a quarter hours. Light rain began to fall during the last hour of this and it never stopped until the second half of the game, but the pitch was in superb condition, even after ninety minutes. My first trip to Holker Street was in February 1990, when Barrow beat Farnborough Town 3-1 in a Conference match in front of a crowd of 1,002. I remembered the main stand and the covered terrace opposite, as well as the two storey building behind one goal, but some temporary seated stands have now been added, bringing the capacity up to around 6,000. The floodlights have been upgraded too, but one of the original four corner pylons remains in situ, as it is used as a tv/radio mast. The record attendance here was 16,874 for an F.A. Cup 3rd Round tie versus Swansea Town in 1954 and those sort of crowds will sadly never be seen again. Tonight, despite admission only being a tenner and half that for concessions, there were only 581 in attendance, which included 70 away fans. The club were prepared for the low turn out, with just the main stand side of the ground open, as well as a small section of uncovered seating next to the players tunnel.
These two are both in League 2, with this being 17th versus 18th as far as league positions go. They were evenly matched, with both teams trying to win the game. There was very little negative play and it was a good open game from a neutral point of view. Barrow went ahead after nine minutes, when a cross into the box was nodded down and hammered in by Elliot Newby from six yards. Tranmere drew level midway through the half, when a diagonal cross from the right was headed in by Charlie Whittaker. A minute before halftime they had the ball in the net again, but the goal was disallowed for a foul in the build up. There were plenty of chances in the second half, but it was the visitors who nicked the winner, when a cross from the right was headed in unmarked at the far post by Whittaker, for his second goal of the game, just as we entered the last ten minutes.
The win sees Tranmere top the four team group now, with Barrow bottom and out, having lost both their games so far. Blackpool host Nottingham Forest U21 tomorrow night, where a home win would see Blackpool and Tranmere qualify for the next round.
