BARROW Raiders head coach Paul Crarey has spoken of his pride after his side got back to winning ways.
Raiders faced Swinton Lions at Heywood Road, which has been an unhappy hunting ground for well over a decade.
But they put that hoodoo to rest with a convincing 24-10, much to the delight of Crarey.
Speaking to the club’s official Facebook page, he said: “I’m so proud of the lads for the work they have put in.
“We haven’t won away at Swinton (before Sunday) since 2008, so it is a historically difficult ground to win at, but we have done it against all odds really.
“Every week at the moment we are struggling to put a side out, but we are very competitive at the moment with whatever side out.”
Raiders bounced back from a disappointing 38-28 loss at home to Halifax Panthers, having led for much of the clash.
Speaking directly after that game, Crarey expressed his disappointment at how the game had unfolded, although admittedly he did saw that it was very raw with him at the time of speaking.
Have looked at it in the cold light of day, his view of the game was far more positive.
He added: “Everybody said we played awful (against Panthers) I thought we were outstanding apart from a seven-minute blow-up when we’ve reviewed it.
“Against Featherstone we were outstanding as well and we’ve put in some good performances and scored some good tries against Bradford, but coming here (against Lions) we’ve done a big week in defensive structure and pressing from the inside and staying up, and I think it worked a treat.”
Crarey also felt that Raiders got their tactics right, especially in the opening 40 minutes where they made Lions pay.
“I thought we exposed their right side in the first half, and then they fixed up in the second half,” he said.
“I think we had 20 sets to their 12 in the first half, and it allowed us to put some points on the board, and we actually missed some real good chances as well scoring points.
“In the second half they were always going to shoe it up. They sent an extra man round on that edge, and it was difficult to break down.
“We didn’t have a running game with Bradley (Brad Walker) because he’s pulled his calf. But he put his boots on to play, so we were passive on that edge, and we used it to set up that left side and it worked a treat.
“We left Bradley out there until I think 72 minutes and then swapped him for Josh Wood whose playing with a busted thumb.”
Raiders are back on home turf this weekend as they play host to Wakefield Trinity (Kick-off 2pm).
The win over Lions on Sunday lifted them three places in the Championship table.
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