Barrow ground out a hard-fought 20-18 win at Dewsbury to end a depressing run of nine straight defeats on Rams’ territory.
They hadn’t won there since 2004, and coach Paul Crarey had predicted beforehand of a tough test, against a big set of forwards on a small pitch.
In the end they got there with Jarrad Stack’s 70th minute try – his second of the game – proving to be the match-winning score.
Before then, during a tense middle period of the second-half it had been Barrow’s magnificent defence which had served them well and kept them in the contest as they had trailed 18-16.
If Stack was the hero up-front, no doubt about the overall match star – Jarrod Sammut, the Maltese international who pulled the strings when his side were in attack mode and whose try and two goals proved so valuable.
Barrow had actually opened-up a 10-0 lead with tries from Sammut and Stack by the 22nd minute and at half-time they had established a 16-6 advantage after Luke Cresswell had crossed.
But Dewsbury, inspired by veteran Paul Sykes, came back really strongly to get their noses in front at 18-16.
The winning try, though, was clouded by some controversy. Dewsbury’s Ben Blackmore appeared to have caught a high ball behind his own line, and seemed to feel he should have been awarded a 20-metre tap. He seemed to go on at referee Robert Hicks about it to such an extent that the winger was penalised and from the subsequent Barrow play Stack got over.
The win keeps Barrow in the play-off berths but the defeat means Dewsbury remain third bottom, still looking over their shoulders at London Broncos and Workington Town.
