Barrow Manager Downplays FA Cup Reunion with Kidderminster Harriers
Barrow manager Adam Murray is minimizing the significance of facing his former club, Kidderminster Harriers, in the FA Cup. The two teams will clash in the second round after both pulled off impressive victories in the first round.
In their last matches, the Bluebirds triumphed with a 1-0 win against League Two side Gillingham, while Harriers delivered a convincing 3-0 defeat to Doncaster Rovers, marking them as the only all non-league fixture of this round.
Murray, who guided Kidderminster to promotion from National League North last season, left the club shortly after to assume the managerial position at Barrow. He previously returned to Aggborough for a league encounter in August, which ended in a feisty 1-1 draw that saw eight players booked.
Upon learning of the draw, Murray stated in an interview with BBC Radio Cumbria, “When the draw came out, I wasn’t really bothered. The big thing for us is we’re at home, we’re playing a team at our level and, like they’ll be thinking, it’s an opportunity to go through to the next round.”
Barrow has not progressed to the third round of the FA Cup since 2022 and is aiming to reach that stage as a non-league team for the first time in ten years. Murray remarked, “It’s just another opponent for us that we want to beat, so we’ll deal with that when we get to it.”
Before their FA Cup match, the Bluebirds have four league games on the horizon as they strive to maintain their positive momentum. They are currently on a ten-match unbeaten streak across all competitions and are positioned just outside the play-off places, with their next encounter scheduled against bottom-of-the-league Gateshead on Saturday at 15:00 GMT.
Murray emphasized the importance of approaching this match with focus, stating, “We have to be at our max and go there with a mentality that we are facing top-of-the-league and make it all about us. That will be the focus.”
