Rushden & Diamonds

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Walker: Bagged a brace

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Barrow 2-0 Rushden

Barrow AFC recorded their first win of the season with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Rushden & Diamonds at Holker Street on Saturday afternoon.

The Bluebirds made their intentions clear early on as Marc Goodfellow hit the foot of the post after latching onto Jason Walker's parried shot in the 3rd minute.

Rushden had more than their fair share of ball possession but they failed to make it count and the first period ended in stalemate.

The visitors missed a glorious opportunity to claim the lead at the start of the second half when striker Rene Howe clipped the crossbar with an effort from deep inside the penalty area.

However, it was Barrow who drew first blood in the 69th minute when Jason Walker fired into the top left corner of the goal from the edge of the area.

And Rushden's afternoon went from bad to worse in the 75th minute as Jamie Stuart was given his marching orders for bringing down Walker in the penalty area.

Walker stepped up to take the resulting spot and made no mistake to double his tally for the afternoon and put his side firmly in the driving seat.

Max Porter had a chance to pull one back for the Diamonds in the 89th minute but his long-range striker flew wide of the left hand upright.

Barrow bookings: Goodfellow, Sheridan, Rutherford, Owen.

Rushden bookings: Osano, Robinson, Corcoran.

Sent off: Stuart (75).

Ref: Matthew Bristow (Manchester).

Att: 1,145.