Mark Aston relieved as Sheffield grind out win over Barrow

Sheffield boss Mark Aston revealed he was highly anxious ahead of their clash against Barrow at the Betfred Championship Summer Bash game and says he was pleased his players were able to deliver a much-needed victory.

The Eagles had the chance to move back into the top three with a victory over their relegation-threatened opponents, and although they trailed 8-6 at the break, four second-half tries helped them get back to winning ways.

Following their victory, he said: “I’ve been anxious all week because Barrow are potentially a massive threat.

“They showed in the first 40 minutes that they can play. We were down on troops with some key injuries, so I’m really pleased we managed to get the win.”

The win ended Sheffield’s run of two straight defeats and has once again put them on a path to a possible top-five finish.

Despite competing at the top end of the Championship table, Aston admitted that he was slightly disappointed during the club’s recent mid-season review.

He said: “When we reviewed the season, we were a little disappointed because we gave a couple of games away; we could have been sitting here talking about 10 wins out of 12.

“We didn’t beat Featherstone because of indiscipline, we played Toronto and got beat by the better team, we were in control during our league game with Halifax.

“We talked about finishing the season. I think we’ll get better towards the second half of the season. I’ve always said that because they’re getting to know each-other and all the little combinations are starting to work.”

Sheffield now have a tough couple of weeks ahead of them with three games inside nine days. One of those games is against the league leaders Toronto Wolfpack.

Speaking about that upcoming encounter, Aston said: “They’re the best team in the competition. With the amount of money why wouldn’t they be. We played them in London a month ago and we were great for big parts of it.”