Pete Wild was full of praise for penalty hero Paul Farman after he helped Barrow to a Carabao Cup shoot-out win over Championship Blackpool.
The tie was settled by the lottery of spot-kicks after a 0-0 draw in normal time, with Lewis Fiorini missing the target to put the visitors into the second round.
Farman had given the Bluebirds the advantage with a stunning save to deny defender Callum Connelly and Wild, who is yet to taste defeat in his first season at the club, said his shot-stopper deserved the glory.
“Paul Farman is a top fella,” said Wild. “He makes big saves for us and keeps us in games.
“It helps having a good back four in front of him, which I think he’s got.
“But when he does something like that in penalties, then you’ve got to be pleased for him.
“You’ve got to defend well, coming to a Championship side – you’ve got to defend the box well. I thought we defended well, we had limited chances, but that’s football.
“I’m delighted for the lads that they stood strong. It was a chance for us to express ourselves.”
Meanwhile, Blackpool manager Michael Appleton conceded their lower league opponents had earned the luck in the shoot-out.
“Barrow earned a little bit of luck,” he said after the game. “There’s no doubt about that, with the effort they put in.
“I said to the players before the game that about 50-60 per cent of clubs who are in higher divisions will lose tonight – just make sure we’re not one of them. Unfortunately, we have been, and what I said to them has come true.
“I thought we were more threatening second half – we moved the ball really well in the first half as well.
“Between both boxes we were great, and then obviously, the reality is you get paid to score goals.”
