LATICS slumped to a 3-0 defeat to Barrow in a game that was interrupted by another pitch invasion, among other protests against the Lemsagam regime.

Fans poured onto the pitch in the 65th minute and sat in the centre circle as supporters’ attempts to oust owner Abdallah Lemsagam and his brother Mo, the club’s sporting director, ramped up.

Referee Carl Boyeson ushered both sets of players to the side of the pitch until the fans dispersed after around three minutes and returned to the stands.

Although it did not affect matters on the field, there was an earlier protest as dozens of supporters in the Jimmy Frizzell Stand waited until the fourth minute to enter, blowing whistles for several minutes as they made their way down the steps.

And the mood was not helped by the scoreline as Barrow had the game wrapped up within the hour.

Junior Luamba missed a chance to put Latics ahead, and instead it was Barrow who were in front moments later as Ollie Banks fired home against his old club from around 25 yards for his third goal in as many games.

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That’s how it stayed until the break. But after Latics made an attacking change at the re-start to try to get back into the game, with Davis Keillor-Dunn replacing Callum Whelan, two goals for the visitors in four minutes killed off any hopes of another fightback.

It was made too easy for Offrande Zanzala to double Barrow’s advantage as he skipped past two token challenges in the box and slotted beyond Jayson Leutwiler in the 53rd minute.

Joe Grayson then scored direct from a free kick whipped through a sea of bodies on the right.

That’s when attentions turned off the field, as Latics fans gathered behind Leutwiler’s goal and unfurled a banner that read “Support the team not the regime”.

Two fans then ran onto the pitch from the Joe Royle Stand and ushered those behind the goal to join them in sitting in the centre circle and chanting “Abdallah out”.

 

Boyeson halted the game and called the players off the pitch until the protest was ended after about three minutes, and play resumed.

But unlike last weekend’s turnaround at Sutton, there was little sign of Latics getting close to a repeat of that here.

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