Pete Wild admitted his half-time rocket inspired Barrow to earn a point in their 1-1 draw at home to Wrexham.
The Bluebirds had been outfought and outplayed in the first half, but Wrexham only led by Elliot Lee’s 12th-minute penalty at the break after Tyrell Warren brought down Ollie Palmer in the box.
Barrow turned it around in the second half and equalised through Emile Acquah’s fine curling effort, though they could not force a second goal for an unlikely victory.
And Wild was happy that his players’ true selves showed up after half-time.
“It is a cliche but that was definitely a game of two halves,” Wild said. “The number one thing at half-time was that we were frustrated by the penalty.
“Our lad (Warren) has got a touch on the ball, none of their players and I think it’s a poor one, and that gave them the impetus in the game. They had the momentum and, let’s be honest, they were far better in the first half.
“We were holding on at half-time and I had a right go at them, which I don’t do often, because I just felt they paid Wrexham too much respect, they were first to everything.
“I said ‘lads, they’re in our league, they’ve come up from the league below – get into them, start winning tackles and start getting amongst them’. When we did that in the second half, it looked like we were the only team going to win the game.
“The second half team is them – that’s them, that’s what they’re like every week. They weren’t like that in the first half, maybe because it’s Wrexham and because of what comes with Wrexham, but I was really frustrated at half-time.
“There was nothing tactical said at half-time, it was just telling them to get into them.
“We don’t pay people too much respect here, we get after teams, and we just needed to do that.”
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson admitted his team should have wrapped up the points by the break.
Though they have hit the most goals in the league so far this term, he was left to rue a host of missed opportunities when they had been in complete control.
“I thought it was a good overall performance in the first half, one that warranted us coming in two or three up,” said Parkinson. “We controlled it and created some great chances, but we needed to be a bit more ruthless in front of goal. They had a 15-minute period and a couple of decisions went against us.
“I think in any game a team will have a period where they’re on top. Sometimes a home team will come out with a response and they did and they got back in it. We wrestled back control, but we couldn’t quite find a winner.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t take some of those chances because there were some real gilt-edged opportunities.
“When it’s only 1-0 it gives them hope, and they’ve got some good players. It can be a difficult environment to come into. I’d loved to have got the three points but there were a lot of positives, we just need to be a bit more clinical.”
Palestine hold South Korea as Japan down China in World Cup qualifying
Son Heung-min scored but South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.
Tottenham forward Son netted in the 16th minute at Amman International Stadium in Jordan.
That came four minutes after Palestine had taken the lead through Zeid Qunbar.
Yet South Korea could not build on that momentum. Despite finishing with 15 shots, they accumulated only 0.84 expected goals (xG).
South Korea, who are six points clear in qualification Group B, had five shots on target, with Son having four of them, as Palestine held on for a memorable result.
In Group C, Japan consolidated their lead with a 3-1 defeat of China in Xiamen.
Koki Ogawa scored twice, opening the scoring and netting Japan's third.
Ko Itakura put Japan 2-0 up on the stroke of half-time, with Lin Liangming pulling one back for China early in the second half.
The match was briefly disrupted as some spectators ran onto the pitch.
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
Real Madrid 0-4 Barcelona: Guijarro brace sets visitors up for Clasico glory
Patri Guijarro's first-half brace set Barcelona on their way to a thumping 4-0 win over rivals Real Madrid in Liga F on Saturday.
Claudia Pina and Alexia Putellas were also on target as Barcelona continued their perfect start to the season, extending their lead at the top of the table.
The visitors dominated from the off, as Guijarro broke the deadlock inside the fourth minute, tapping in from Putellas' flick-on from a corner.
Cata Coll was forced into a big save to deny Alba Redondo an equaliser shortly after, but Madrid's hope was soon dented as Guijarro picked out the bottom corner with a superb long-range strike for her second.
Pina strengthened their lead six minutes before the break, clinically slotting past Misa with her low strike.
Putellas added some more gloss to the scoreline with four minutes remaining of normal time, beating the Madrid keeper with a lovely dink to bring up her 199th goal for the club.
Barcelona have won all 10 of their games, and now sit eight points clear of Madrid, who suffered their first league defeat of the campaign.
Data Debrief: Total dominance
Madrid will have felt fairly confident coming into this game after a strong start to their season, but they once again failed to find a way past their Clasico rival.
Los Blancos have lost every single game they have played against Barcelona in all competitions, with this their 15th such meeting.
Barcelona smothered their attack early on, restricting their hosts to just one shot in the first half, while they had 10.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
