We travel to SO Legal Stadium to face Barrow AFC on Halloween in Sky Bet League Two.
Following an excellent 4-1 home win over AFC Wimbledon at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium, the Shrimps head into the fixture full of confidence after making it eight games unbeaten and five wins in a row.
The Bluebirds themselves are unbeaten in four in all competitions with three draws and one win; coincidentally, their last defeat came at the hands of the Shrimps in the EFL Trophy.
Charlie Brown, Cameron Rooney and Cammy Smith all netted to brush aside the Cumbrian side, with Ben Whitfield scoring a second half consolation.
The Opposition
Since our last meeting, Barrow played out a 2-2 draw away at MK Dons as well as two stalemates against AFC Wimbledon and Salford City respectively.
Their win came at The New Lawn where goals courtesy first half goals from Sam Foley and Dom Telford secured the victory over Forest Green Rovers.
After 15 Sky Bet League Two games, Pete Wild has guided his side to five wins, seven draws and three defeats.
Key Players
A familiar name to Shrimps’ supporters is Courtney Duffus, who spent two seasons at Morecambe before departing in the summer. The 28-year-old’s most prolific spell in front of goal came during his time at Yeovil Town with 18 goals in 60 appearances. Duffus was also capped three times for the Republic of Ireland at U21 level, he scored one goal.
At 37-years-old, Sam Foley brings a wealth of experience to this Barrow side. He has played seven times in the Championship as well as 191 games in League One and 129 in League Two. Versatility is another key trait for Foley, who can play anywhere across midfield, further forward as an attacking midfielder or second striker, and deeper as a defensive midfielder or centre back.
James Chester joined Barrow in September following a season with Derby County. The 34-year-old has just shy of 450 professional games under his belt, 60 of which came in the Premier League for Hull City and West Bromwich Albion. As well as Europa League experience for the Tigers, Chester made his international bow for Wales in June 2014 and has gone on to play 35 times for his country.
Pete Wild's Pre-Match Thoughts
Ahead of Tuesday night’s clash, Wild was full of compliments for Derek Adams and the Shrimps.
Speaking to Barrow AFC’s Twitter account, he said: “First and foremost, well done to Derek, I think he’s put together another exciting, young side that work really hard.
“They’re a very industrious team, the first thing we’re going to have to do tomorrow night is match their effort because their effort is excellent.
“They’re very good on the counter-attack, they get some really good numbers on the counter-attack, so I can see why they’re doing well but first and foremost, they’re giving everything they’ve got for their manager.
“We’ve said tomorrow night, we have to match their intensity, we have to stop their threat on the counter-attack, and then we have to make sure we go in and compose ourselves with numerous threats we’ve got.”
Team News
James Connolly, Jacob Bedeau and Adam Mayor are all available for selection following their suspensions.
Donald Love comes back into thinking following his foot injury, as does Cardiff City loanee Eli King.
Meet The Officials
Benjamin Speedie will be the man in the middle on Tuesday night and will be joined by assistants Mark Cunliffe and Conor Brown as well as fourth official Martin Woods.
Having taken charge of eight games so far this season in League’s One, Two and the Carabao Cup, the referee has issued 27 yellow cards and three red cards.
The last time Speedie took charge of the Shrimps was back in August 2022 where we drew 1-1 away at Oxford United.
Watch Live!
Tuesday night’s fixture will be available to watch with an iFollow Shrimps video match pass for just £10.
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