Opposition Overview: Barrow AFC
Chris Millington and his Solihull Moors side are set to welcome a Barrow side led by Adam Murray to Damson Park in their latest fixture in the ongoing 2026/27 Enterprise National League season. The Moors will be vying for all three points as they look to get the better of the Bluebirds and climb the table.
As a football club, Barrow AFC have plenty of history. They were founded all the way back on 16th July 1901, with them playing their home games at ‘The Strawberry’ in the early years of its life, before then moving to a new home at Ainslie Street a few years later in September 1904. They then moved to Little Park in March 1905, winning their first piece of silverware there when they won the Lancashire Combination Division One title in 1908.
1909 was when they decided to move to what is their current home to this very day, Holker Street, with them beating Eccles Borough by an emphatic scoreline of 5 – 2 in their first competitive game at the ground. By 1917, the club decided to cease playing football due to transport difficulties in the middle of the First World War.
Then in the 1933/34 season, they achieved what was Barrow’s highest finish in the Division Three North when they ended up in 8th place, and on the final day of that season they recorded an incredible 12 – 1 win over Gateshead, with striker Jimmy Shankly scoring all of the goals that day. During that campaign, they scored over 100 league goals, with 78 of those coming in their 21 home league games.
In January 1959, shortly after they were moved into Division Four, they took on Wolverhampton Wanderers in an FA Cup tie at Holker Street, and it saw them record a thoroughly deserved 4 – 2 victory against the Old Gold, where it could have been more in terms of goals scored by The Bluebirds that day.
Then by August of 1972, Barrow AFC found themselves in the Northern Premier League, but did not have much success in this period. Despite this struggle for Barrow, they still made the decision to join the APL, now known as the National League, at the end of the decade in 1979, defeating Yeovil Town 2 – 0 in the opening game of the 1979/80 campaign.
April 1981 saw the club win the ATS Trophy with victory over Wigan Athletic. This was their first trophy since they had dropped down into non-league football. However, by the end of the 1982/83 season, they had succumbed to relegation down to the Northern Premier League, with new boss Vic Halom being confirmed as their new boss being appointed as player/manager by the summer of 1983.
Under Halom’s leadership, they would get promoted back to the APL on their first attempt by winning the league title, though not long after that he, alongside their top goalscorer that season, Barry Diamond, both joined Rochdale permanently.
In 1988 they reached the FA Trophy semi-final, losing to Enfield, and then the following two seasons saw the Bluebirds win the NPL title and get promoted to the Conference. In 1990, they finally won the FA Trophy when they were able to beat Leek Town by an emphatic scoreline of 3 – 0 at Wembley.
We now fast forward to the 1997/98 season, and it saw them, led by boss Owen Brown, who had led them to the NPL title and get to the FA Trophy quarter-finals. After getting sacked, the club had a liquidator appointed due to the extensive debts the club owed at the time, which meant that they were relegated and were entered into the Northern Premier League Premier Division following a successful membership bid following the conclusion of the 1998/99 campaign.
The rebuild of the club then began. Former club favourite Kenny Lowe took charge as player/manager in August of 1999, leading the club to the First Round Proper of the historic English FA Cup on as many as three occasions, which was a magnificent achievement for the non-league club.
They also won the UniBond Chairman’s Cup in the 2000/01 campaign, and then the President’s Cup the following season (2001/02).
Lowe departed at the end of the 2003/04 season, shortly after finishing as runner-up in the league to Accrington Stanley. He was succeeded by his assistant Lee Turnbull, guiding them to third place in the Unibond Premier Division before then winning the President’s Cup title for what was the second time in three years.
By the time that the conclusion of the 2007/08 season came around, Barrow found themselves back at the top tier of non-league football, which was then known as the Blue Square Premier, following a 1 – 0 play off final victory over Stalybridge Celtic at the home of Burton Albion Football Club, the Pirelli Stadium.
The Bluebirds then had what was a very enjoyable and successful season for the club in the 2009/10 campaign. They did consolidate their place at the top table of the non-league game, whilst also getting to the FA Cup Third Round Proper once again, which was for the second time in a row. They were only beaten 3 – 0 by Premier League club Sunderland.
In February 2012, Dave Bayliss took charge, but in the 2012/13 season, they unfortunately saw themselves get relegated after spending their longest spell in the fifth tier since it was relegated from the English Football League back in 1972.
In the summer of 2014, there was a takeover of the club that saw Paul Cassin, born in Barrow, take over the club, and by April of 2015, the club had successfully secured itself a place in the Vanarama National League after clinching the National League North title, which was secured on the final day of the season with a 3 – 2 victory over Lowestoft Town.
In 2015/16, boss Paul Cox was able to stabilise the club after a dodgy start in their return to life in the fifth tier, guiding them to a top half finish. Further progress was made in the following campaign when they were able to finish as high as 7th place, their best since losing their Football League status all those years earlier. The club also reached the Third Round Proper of that FA Cup campaign, losing 2 – 1 to Bristol Rovers of League One away from home at the Gas’ stadium, the Memorial Ground.
In 2017/18, they narrowly avoided relegation, and by the summer of 2018, Ivan Evatt, who played for the likes of Chesterfield and Blackpool as a defender, took charge of the club. Barrow, by the end of the interrupted 2019/20 campaign, got promoted back to the English Football League after winning the title on a points-per-game basis on 17th June 2020. It would be their first time back in the fourth tier for more than 48 years.
Barrow did go on to enjoy an extended spell back in the English Football League system, with the Bluebird remaining there for the next six years. In the 2023/24 season, under the stewardship of Pete Wild, they came agonisingly close to reaching the play-offs, finishing just a point away with Crawley taking the final spot.
Unfortunately for the Holker Street club, they were relegated back out of the Football League and back down to the National League last term (2025/26), and they will hope to make an immediate return to League Two under the stewardship of current boss Adam Murray, who was appointed by the club back in May 2026, ahead of the start of the current 2026/27 season.
In the opposition dugout – Adam Murray
Adam Murray is the current manager of Barrow AFC, having been appointed by the club as recently as 12th May 2026, just months before the start of the current season. Murray will be looking to take the Bluebirds back to the English Football League straight away, with promotion being targeted.
Barrow is not the first club that he has managed. Murray has also previously taken charge of the likes of Mansfield Town (2014 - 2016), Boston United (2016 - 2017), Barnsley (Caretaker, 2019; Caretaker, 2020), AFC Fylde (2022 - 2023), and Kidderminster Harriers (2025 - 2026).
44-year-old Murray also had a playing career that spanned 20 years, from 1998 right up until his retirement in 2018. He did play for a number of clubs, which included Derby County (1998 - 2003), Mansfield Town (Loan, 2002; 2004 – 2005; Loan, 2010/11; 2011 - 2015), Kidderminster Harriers (Loan, 2003; 2004), Notts County (2003; 2003 - 2004), Burton Albion (2003), Carlisle United (2005 - 2006), Torquay United (2006 - 2007), Macclesfield Town (2007 - 2008), Oxford United (2008 - 2010), Luton Town (2010), Rainworth Miners Welfare (Loan, 2013), Worksop Town (2013), and finally Sutton Coldfield Town in 2018.
Key Player – Innes Cameron
Innes Cameron is amongst Barrow’s key players and is their leading goal scorer so far this season with 3 as of the time of writing. Cameron joined from Scottish Club Kilmarnock in July 2025, when the club was still in EFL League Two. And, following a loan back in Scotland with Raith Rovers, he is back with Barrow and has been amongst the goals for the Bluebirds so far this term.
26-year-old Cameron has previously played for the likes of the aforementioned Kilmarnock (2016 - 2025), as well as Stranraer (Loan, 2018 - 2019), Ayr United (Loan, 2020), Alloa Athletic (Loan, 2021), and Queen of the South (Loan, 2021 – 2022; Loan, 2022). He also had a brief loan spell with the aforementioned Raith Rovers from 2nd February 2026 until the end of the season (2025/26).
Opposition Overview written by Adam Holt
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