Boss Mark Cooper was convinced Barrow should have taken all three points but admitted his team paid the price for a poor first-half performance in the 1-1 home draw with Scunthorpe.

Robbie Gotts salvaged a draw for the Bluebirds with an 80th-minute equaliser after George Taft’s first goal in two years put the Iron ahead before half-time.

Both sides missed a penalty – Ryan Loft for United and Barrow’s top scorer Ollie Banks – in a game that came to life in the final 20 minutes.

Cooper said: “It should have been all three points when you look at the second half.

“We dominated the game but gave ourselves a mountain to climb by conceding a rubbish goal; a free header from a corner.

“We need to be tougher defensively. Scunthorpe are fighting for their lives and put everyone behind the ball.

“What you can’t do is give them a leg up; a goal start. Then they have something to hold onto.

“In the first half we were slow with our possession. I was convinced if we got to half-time 0-0 we would win the game but we didn’t.

“I had to change it at half-time to make us be able to pass the ball quicker. In the second half we dominated and should have won the game comfortably.

“We hit the bar, we hit the post twice and missed a penalty. The goal before half-time killed us and cost us two points.”

Scunthorpe remain three points off safety, have still won just once this season and not at all on their travels since last March.

However, manager Neil Cox was pleased with the performance, especially with members of the squad struggling through sickness.

He said: “They had a lot of possession. I believe they had 16 shots and we had 10.

“In the last 20 minutes they had nothing to lose. But we came here to get a result. We missed a penalty and scored from a good set play.

“We sat back a little bit but had two lads not feeling too good. Lofty (Ryan Loft) has been ill all day, we had to bring Myles (Hippolyte) off and we had a couple of members of staff down with it as well.

“We had an illness from last week; a stomach bug, nothing else. We struggled on the way up here, having to stop.

“So, I am proud how they dug in and showed some character. We could easily have crumbled at 1-1.

“We played well last Saturday and got nothing out of the game and we came here and knew it would be difficult.

“Barrow are a really good side and perhaps we did sit back too much but we managed to get a point.”