Barrow’s substitutes earned high praise from manager Pete Wild after seeing off the 10 men of Sutton United.
The Bluebirds now share the lead in League Two after two opening wins with the late goals securing the 2-1 win over Sutton.
Lee Angol had put the visitors in front before half-time but debutant Jamie Proctor netted the winner after 82 minutes just three minutes after Emile Acquah had also notched his first Barrow goal to bring them level.
One sub Sam Foley was responsible for two assists while another, Proctor, scored the winner.
Wild said: “I thought that the subs really influenced the game. I have spoken a lot about subs, and I have spoken to the players about them as well.
“Sometimes you start a game and have to do the hard graft, but sometimes you’ll come on when the game opens up and you’ll have to be a finisher and get to the end of the game. The latter are the ones who probably have the bigger part to play.
“It takes a mixture of being calm and ensuring that we keep the pressure on. We have been fortunate to be able to bring in experienced players like Jamie Proctor and Sam Foley, who know how to deal with those situations.”
Sutton had been reduced to ten men on 13 minutes following a red card for Harry Smith for a stamp on Tom White yet they still went ahead on 33 minutes.
Wild added: “I am really pleased we took control of a difficult game. We had 15 shots on goal, and until late on, we did everything but score.
“At half time I stressed that I wanted us to play like us because the red card seemed to make us think that we had to win it in the next five minutes and play frantically. Even if it took until 70, 80, or even 85 minutes to get that goal, I wanted us to keep being us, which we did – I was really pleased.
“Fair credit to Sutton though; I thought that they defended for their lives and grafted so hard for their team. When you’re up against that, it is very difficult to break down. We were made to keep applying pressure, and eventually, it worked.”
Barrow now have two away games on the spin – at Accrington Stanley on Tuesday before a trip to Stockport County at the weekend.
