BARROW halfback Ryan Johnston says a heavy Challenge Cup defeat by Oldham turned out to be a catalyst as the Raiders get ready for another knockout showdown with the Roughyeds.
This time it’s in the quarter-finals of the 1895 Cup, with the Cumbrians, having lost 42-4 on a painful afternoon at Boundary Park, going back there on Sunday aiming to derail Oldham’s bid to stay on track for a first-ever Wembley appearance.
Barrow last played at the national stadium in 1967, when they lost 17-12 to Featherstone in the Challenge Cup final, and Johnston knows just how significant a return could be for his hometown club.
The 27-year-old has played for them since 2017, when he became the first player to step up from the club’s Furness Raiders development side.
And he believes Barrow, long coached by former player Paul Crarey, have what it takes to become a regular Championship contender.
After two years of staving off the threat of relegation, Barrow have made a bright start to this season, and went into their fifth league game at home to York chasing a fourth win.
Their second-tier scalps include Sean Long’s Oldham, seen off 20-6 at the Northern Competitions Stadium, the old-school ground traditionalists know as Craven Park.
“We’ve been building nicely,” said Johnston.
“I think the defeat to Oldham in the Cup pushed us to keep our standards high and try to kick on.
“Adversity has been a regular theme in the changing room. No matter who we play, and when the odds are stacked against us, it’s only adversity we face, so we’ve got to keep pushing through that barrier to get the results we want.
“I think we’ve been getting the results we deserve, but no one is getting carried away.
“We know we have to keep working hard as a group, and we’ve just got to focus on ourselves, tick all the boxes and let other teams worry about us, rather than us worry about them.”
The 1895 Cup, for sides outside Super League, remains backed by AB Sundecks, and all four last-eight ties are on Sunday.
Last year’s beaten finalists Sheffield, the inaugural winners in 2019, head to Bradford, while York host Widnes and Featherstone, who lifted the trophy in 2021, face London Broncos.
