Disciplined Holwell Sports earn good point at league leaders Barrow

Report By ANDY HILL

Travelling to league leaders Barrow on Bank Holiday Monday, Holwell manager Jon Webster set his team up to concede possession and play on the counter.

The game started at a furious pace, with Barrow on the front foot while Holwell settled into their shape.

After five minutes, Holwell keeper Jamie Witham was well beaten by a 25-yard piledriver which cannoned off the crossbar. Holwell had a great chance soon after, when Emidio Chiavetta was sent away down the left, his cross into the penalty area was met by Kieran Foster who headed just over from six yards.

With Holwell’s tactics starting to frustrate, Barrow resorted to shooting from distance, and Ben Law’s fine effort brought the best out of Witham, diving full length to turn the ball around his left-hand post.

Liam Chapman was then set free down Holwell’s left sending in a testing cross only to see the Barrow keeper take it off Foster’s head at the near post.

Holwell were forced into a change at half-time, with Graham Wells replaced by Mark Tinsley, and the second half continued in the same vein.

The visitors enjoyed more possession and applied more pressure in and around Barrow’s penalty area. A long throw into the area from David Reeves was met by Ian Bitmead, and his flick found the on-rushing Chris Hibbitt whose header went just over. Another long throw by Reeves saw Bitmead knock down for David Hazeldine, but the striker’s 20-yard effort sailed over.

Barrow also had chances, with Zac Givert finding himself unmarked in the Holwell box, but his strike was straight at Witham.

Tom Harris came on to give Holwell more pace down the right, but the visitors very nearly had their hearts broken when Winfield hit the post in the fifth minute of added time. However, despite plenty of effort, neither side could find a breakthrough