Barrow boss Andy Whing was full of praise for Aaron Pressley after his man-of-the-match performance in a 2-0 win over his former club Accrington.
The Stevenage loanee, who spent the second half of the 2023-24 season on loan at Stanley, sealed back-to-back wins for the Bluebirds with a 77th-minute header.
And it was Pressley’s header that led to fellow loanee Leo Duru netting his first senior goal after 14 minutes.
Accrington, dreadful in the first half, were much better in the second after four interval substitutions.
But a potential Charlie Brown equaliser was thwarted by Paul Farman’s stunning save.
“’Press’ worked his socks off and that was probably his best game,” said Whing, as the Bluebirds moved 14 points clear of the relegation places.
“I am pleased he got his goal. He hadn’t had too much luck in front of goal.
“That should give him loads of confidence. Hopefully he can kick on now for the rest of the season.”
Barrow’s EFL status looked shaky after three successive defeats, including a home loss to Derby rivals Carlisle.
But six points from six, including a midweek win at Notts County, left Whing saying: “It has dragged us away from danger which is great.
“It was eight when I first came in so we are pulling away a little bit.”
Stanley boss John Doolan went into the game in buoyant mood after the midweek win over MK Dons.
However, the visitors were woeful in the opening 45 minutes.
“The first half wasn’t acceptable,” said Doolan. “And the players know that.
“You can’t do what we did on Tuesday, put in a performance like we did, get a result and a clean sheet – a perfect night – and then turn up here like we did.
“In the first half it was a poor show all-round. They got told that at half-time.
“So, I made four changes and we put them on the back foot straight away. The second half was a lot better but we still only had one shot on target.
“The one shot we did get on target their keeper makes a world class save.
“We know we have good players and we know we must get away from this bottom end.
“So, we are all hurting big time because it was another opportunity to get further away from the bottom end of the table.”
