Chris Holroyd earned the plaudits for his two second half goals at Barrow last night, but he was quick to pay credit to his team-mates and also the travelling supporters.

Holroyd finally breached a determined Barrow side with well-taken goals in the 63rd and 83rd minutes, but firstly praised the back line for giving the team the platform for the win.

"The defence was the key," he said. "We knew if we stayed strong at the back and kept them out, later in the game we would have the opportunity to win it. We stayed strong and had some difficult times in the first half and after the break we came out and showed what we're about.

"It was hard for Scott and myself up front in the first half; Barrow play a physical game and the pitch was bobbly so it was hard to get hold of the ball. The key to the second half was when Scotty and me got the ball we got rid of it quickly and got ourselves back into the box."

The first goal came from his alertness when a defender missed his clearance, allowing Chris to pounce and beat the keeper with a low finish, and he acknowledged Gary Brabin's influence when he said, "The gaffer is always onto me to chase down lost causes, so I chased the lad down and fortunately he made a mistake and I got the chance to punish him.

"The goal was similar to my one on Saturday - I took it into the box and put it through the keeper's legs. For the second one, I knew when I turned I just needed to hit the target with my left foot and fortunately it went in. That was the first time I had any space up front in the whole match!

"The gaffer said if we kept pushing them back we would get spaces later on, and as the second half rolled on it opened up for us."

Holroyd almost completed his first hat-trick when he was one-on-one with the keeper in the dying moments but keeper Tim Deasy stood up well, and then in stoppage time he had another chance after a corner when he turned Scott Rendell's header over the line but was flagged offside.

"As the ball came across me it was in front of me and the goal was open so I had to go for it," he said.

At this point in the interview he was interrupted by Scott Rendell who interjected, "I'm letting him off; it was going in but for all he's done for myself and the team, I'll let him off!"

Chris continued, "I feel bad for Scott - I should have let it go in but that's just instinct and you know you have to have a go.

"Scotty worked really hard tonight and I wanted him to score more than anyone, and I'm just pleased we got the win, particularly for the travelling support. On a Tuesday night, all those miles away from home, we couldn't ask for any more from them and that's one of the things that's got us through tonight.

"They deserve league football; we have a good enough squad, the gaffer has the players he wants, and we have the people in place to get us into the Football League, which is where the players and the supporters want to be."

Interview by David Gray

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