Peter Wild saluted Barrow’s strength in depth as the Cumbrians picked up a seventh consecutive win with a 3-1 League Two victory at injury-hit Crewe.
The Bluebirds manager was able to make key changes to ram home the visitors’ advantage in the closing stages with substitute Robbie Gotts setting up Ben Whitfield for the striker’s second, which restored a two-goal cushion.
Crewe manager Lee Bell, in contrast, had limited options as injuries, suspension and illness left him naming an inexperienced bench.
Bell was also disappointed with a second-half penalty decision which allowed Ged Garner to add to Whitfield’s opener, accusing former Crewe defender George Ray of a theatrical dive in the box.
It allowed the Cumbrians to close out another win thanks to a gritty display at Gresty Road.
“It was a real test for us to play Swindon and Crewe away and to get six points from those two difficult away games is unbelievable. Crewe caused us different problems, but we coped with it well and I’m really pleased with how we’ve done away from home,” said the Barrow boss.
“We’ve got great strength in depth which helps us. There’s three players tonight who are sat at home and have not even travelled.
“They don’t deserve to be sitting at home. We can take players off the bench at the right times and recharge the team when it’s needed.
“The role the subs have played in the squad this season is outstanding. That is one of the reasons we are doing so well. It’s the difference between us being a good side and a top-10 side. And we got it right in the summer with our recruitment.
“I’m delighted for the travelling support as I wanted to give them something to cheer after we lost here last season and I got into a right argument with a fan. Hopefully our performance tonight will have given him something to cheer.
“But while I’m delighted to get another three points on the board, there’s still a long way to go.”
The Railwaymen are now without a win in four games and their showing was a disappointment for the large home following, swelling the gate of 7,646 after a cut-price ticket offer.
Alex manager Bell said: “The moment the game changed for them was the penalty. To have that given when he (Ray) was offside and then falls to the floor; the more I look at it the worse it looks. It changed the momentum of the game as it should have been 1-1 when we scored.
“I’m bitterly disappointed about that moment in the game.
“But the players have been brilliant as they are going above and beyond. We are really low on players with so many missing; one went off ill (Ryan Cooney) tonight.
“I’m proud of the club and the fans who came out in force tonight and stuck with the players. I hope they return and I appreciate the way they backed the players.
“I asked the players to come up with energy and certain things and I can’t fault them in those areas.”
Amorim wants Man Utd players to be inspired by club's history
Ruben Amorim wants his Manchester United players to be inspired by the club's history as he bids to bring a winning mentality back to Old Trafford.
Amorim, taking over at the Premier League club following the departure of Erik ten Hag, was speaking in his first interview with the club after a tour of their home venue.
The Portuguese tactician had visited Old Trafford earlier in the week and met a group of supporters, as well as the women's team's vice-captain, England star Ella Toone.
"When you come [to Old Trafford], it's so different. You see the trophies, you see the tragedy that we have as a club. The history," said Amorim.
The 39-year-old added the manner in which the club defied the odds to succeed under Matt Busby after the Munich air disaster in 1958 should be a particular source of inspiration.
"This kind of strength, I think it's important to put in our team. When the players come here, they should take the stadium tour all the time. I think this is very important to do," Amorim said.
"It's normal if you go a lot of years without winning, you start losing that feeling. So I think we need to put all the players doing the same thing, to regain that feeling.
"We haven't won the Premier League for a long time. But if you ask, United is the biggest club in England.
"So this is part of history, it is not now. So we have to address that, to show that and to try to win again."
Asked what his footballing philosophy is, the former midfielder said it all comes down to being a team.
"The team is the most important thing for me. And if you work as a team, then the talent individually is going to shine," he said.
"But if I have to explain the importance of everything, it is the character, the way we fight, the way we play, and we must have an identity.
Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout
Japan continued their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Indonesia on Friday.
Two goals from the visitors in either half were enough to seal the three points and get them back to winning ways after a stalemate with Australia last time out.
Ragnar Oratmangoen should have put Indonesia ahead, but he hesitated one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Japan did not look back after that. They got a bit of fortune with their first goal, Justin Hubner deflecting a cross into his own net in the 35th minute.
Takumi Minamino got their second just before the break, finishing off a pacy counter-attack by darting onto the end of Kaoru Mitoma’s cross to sweep it past Maarten Paes.
While there was not much the goalkeeper could do with that one, he was at fault for the third as he gifted the ball to Hidemasa Morita, who coolly picked out the bottom corner just after the break.
Yukinari Sugawara came off the bench to round off the scoring in the 69th minute. He raced down the right wing and instead of looking to his options, he rifled it in from a tight angle at the near post.
Japan are up to 13 points after five games, sitting top of Group C, while Indonesia are bottom, still in search of their first win.
Data Debrief: Clinically done
For a team still chasing their first win, Japan are probably not high on the list of opponents they would want to face, and Indonesia were undone by their visitors.
Hajime Moriyasu's side created 0.79 expected goals (xG) to Indonesia's 0.72, while they only had four more shots than their hosts (12 compared to eight).
Japan took their chances, and though the win margin may look harsh, they were deserving of the three points, having dominated throughout the game.
Jamaica 0-1 United States: Pepi give visitors advantage in Nations League quarter-final
Ricardo Pepi's first-half strike gave the United States a 1-0 advantage over Jamaica after the first leg of their Concacaf Nations League quarter-final.
The hosts saw a penalty saved in the first half before their frustrations were compounded late on thanks to Mason Holgate's red card.
The USA had the lead just five minutes in – having smothered a Jamaica attack at one end, the visitors caught them out with a pacy counter-attack, with Pepi sweeping it into the back of the net.
Shortly after, Shamar Nicholson was brought down by Matt Turner when he tried to take it around him, but the goalkeeper made amends, diving low to his right to deny Demarai Gray from 12 yards.
In the second half, Holgate was denied a tap-in by Yunus Musah before Turner scrambled to stop Leon Bailey's corner from nestling into the net as Jamaica searched for an equaliser.
With 86 minutes on the clock, Holgate received a second yellow card in just over 10 minutes for dragging Brandon Vazquez back, meaning he will miss the return leg in Missouri on Monday.
Data Debrief: Hitting the mark
Pepi got the all-important goal on Thursday, and is the fourth player to score 12 goals for the USA before turning 22 years old, joining Landon Donovan, Jozy Altidore and Christian Pulisic.
But it was perhaps Turner who actually had the most vital interventions; he has now saved three of the eight penalties he's faced for the USA, including two against Jamaica.
Mauricio Pochettino also could not have asked for a better result from his first competitive game in charge of the Stars and Stripes as he became just the third full-time manager to win his first competitive away match, joining Bob Bradley (2008) and Steve Sampson (1996).
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