The Cumbrian club was due to host its West Yorkshire rivals at the SO Legal Stadium on Tuesday evening, but the fixture was postponed after a lunchtime inspection during which the pitch was found to be waterlogged.
A statement on the club’s official X – formerly Twitter – account said: “Unfortunately following a pitch inspection at the SO Legal Stadium, tonight’s match against Bradford City has been called off due to a waterlogged pitch.
“We will update fans as soon as possible about the rearrangement of this fixture.”
Barrow currently sit fifth in the table, seven points adrift of the automatic promotion places with five matches to play, but with two games in hand on MK Dons in third.
The Met Office warned of an area of low pressure following on the coat tails of Storm Kathleen, which brought difficult conditions to the UK over the weekend, on Monday.
A yellow weather warning for the west coat of Wales is in place until 3pm on Tuesday, when “a spell of strong winds” will affect the region.
In Scotland, 20-40mm of rainfall is expected in some areas until 6pm on Tuesday, while a few places could see as much as 50-60mm.
Further rainfall is forecast in western Scotland between 9am and 10pm on Wednesday and may cause flooding, with 20-30mm of rain expected in most places and 40-60mm on high ground.
A small group of Bradford fans had protested outside the ground before kick-off against club owner Stefan Rupp, who had written an open letter on Friday apologising for the club’s poor season.
But Graham Alexander’s side returned to winning ways thanks to second-half goals from Calum Kavanagh and Bobby Pointon.
Luke Norris shot just wide for Tranmere as the visitors looked to add to Bradford’s problems before Bantams captain Richie Smallwood sent a curling free-kick over the wall and against the bar.
Harvey Saunders nearly put Tranmere in front with a cheeky back-heel that Sam Walker smothered on the line.
Bradford struck the woodwork for a second time when Pointon’s low drive hit the inside of the post while Tranmere continued to create chances as well, with home keeper Walker needing to tip over from Saunders’ free-kick.
But Bradford took the lead after 64 minutes when Kavanagh turned home a low cross from Lewis Richards.
Kavanagh then set up Pointon for a thumping second goal five minutes later to ensure a three-point haul for Bradford.
The Bantams hold a 1-0 lead heading into the all-important deciding leg at Brunton Park thanks to Jamie Walker’s strike.
It is the first time Bradford have reached the play-offs since being relegated to the fourth tier in 2019 and is also Hughes’ first-time being involved in the post-season.
Hughes claims his side are in the preferred position and are confident based on form heading into the play-offs.
He told a press conference: “I would much rather be in our position than Carlisle’s.
“Going there with a win under our belt, not only the scoreline but the confidence that winning a football match brings. If you look at the last 10 games, we’ve had more wins than Carlisle have and we are coming off the back of a win.
“In terms of confidence, we are in a better place and there is absolutely no pressure on us because we are on the front foot and looking forward to the game and we are in a good frame of mind heading into it.
“I don’t know if there are mind games going on, might be from Carlisle’s point of view but certainly not from us, we are just confident in our own ability.”
Hughes is enjoying his first experience of the play-offs and whilst he has not been involved in the post-season before, he has drawn comparisons of the atmosphere at the University of Bradford Stadium to European nights at his previous clubs, and insists the big-game atmosphere on Saturday will not surprise his team.
He continued: “I’ve enjoyed the occasion and atmosphere around the game.
“It reminded me of the European nights and there’s a certain atmosphere and noise to a big crowd when there’s something on a game and to experience that again is something I enjoyed.
“It’s been enjoyable in the play-offs, no different really to games at the top end of the Premier League or semi-finals I’ve been involved in.
“They were very nervous in the opening period, which was a consequence of the stage and the atmosphere which will be replicated, not to the same extent, but they will have a big crowd and will have to deal with that. That’s what we are used to, every weekend basically.
The teams have met three times already this season and have only produced two goals, both sides winning 1-0 sandwiched between a goalless draw in March and the Bradford boss is not falling for any mind games being played from the opposition camp.
He said: “It’s part and parcel of the game, they will try and psych us out but we are in a good place in terms of where we are at and what we are about and we just want to get the job done.
“We are ready for it, the game itself will be a challenge and everything surrounding it but I think we will deal with it well enough.”
Villa were unable to claw back the 3-1 deficit from the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final even though leading scorer Christian Benteke put them in front in the second leg before half-time.
James Hanson’s headed effort early in the second period effectively killed off the tie and substitute Garry Thompson came within inches of making a spectacular contribution as his shot thumped against the bar.
Villa manager Paul Lambert brought on a fourth striker in Andreas Weimann and he put Villa ahead on the night again late on after Benteke’s flick-on, but it was too little, too late.
The final whistle was the cue for wild scenes of delight from Bradford manager Phil Parkinson and his players, who had overcome Arsenal in the previous round.
The only other club from the bottom division to reach the final was Rochdale in 1962, when the competition was in its infancy and many of the leading sides did not participate.
Sadly for Bradford, the final at Wembley proved an unhappier occasion as Swansea strolled to a 5-0 victory to qualify for the Europa League.
Nathan Dyer scored twice, Michu found the net before the break and Jonathan de Guzman’s double confirmed the biggest win in final history as Swansea secured the first meaningful silverware in their existence.
