Barry buries Barrow as Stockport snap winless streak

Stockport secured their first win of the season by beating Barrow 1-0 in League Two.

Louie Barry’s 66th-minute strike earned victory for last season’s beaten play-off finalists.

Both sides settled into the game slowly with the first half ultimately lacking quality finishing.

Stockport’s best first-half chance came as Isaac Olaofe beat his man to be one-on-one with Josh Lillis who made himself big and produced a save.

The Hatters were lucky to have 11 men on the pitch after Kyle Knoyle’s high challenge forced Courtney Duffus off.

Barrow threatened in the first period with three shots on target, but they were all too comfortable for home goalkeeper Ben Hinchliffe.

After the interval, Stockport seemed on a mission with a close-range shot from captain Paddy Madden forcing Lillis into making a tough save.

The Hatters eventually took the lead through Barrie whose shot from outside the box thumped past Lillis.

Barrow could not respond and the hosts’ defensive resilience was enough to clinch their first victory of the season, to the delight of manager Dave Challinor and the home supporters.