Powell pleased with Skem but Linnets flirting with the drop
SKELMERSDALE United faced an in-form Ossett Albion side last Saturday and recorded an impressive 3-1 victory.
Albion were unbeaten in eight as they headed to Volair Park - including five wins on the spin in March - but goals from Scott Bakkor, Liam Davies and James Barrigan cancelled out Tom Corner’s opener to move Dave Powell’s men eleven points above the dropzone with six games remaining.
Powell was pleased with the performance of not only his team - but the Skelmersdale United fans, too.
“It was probably our most disciplined performance of the season against a side who are flying. They’re eight unbeaten and I think it shows how far we’ve come.
“We’ve lost one in six. It was two in-form teams playing a decent brand of football. It was exciting, with incidents throughout the game for people to watch and I certainly enjoyed it from the dugout.
“We’ve come out on top, which clearly I’m delighted about, and another three points in the bag hopefully moves us up a few places as well.”
With Skelmersdale now 19th in the table, safety is all but secured ahead of next season. But Powell reckons the character being shown by all his players is a good sign as they look to build on an impressive end to the season.
“The application today, the discipline - even when we switched the system a couple of times to nullify their threats - I’m really pleased with the squad as a whole. T
“There’s a top drawer attitude from everyone. There’s lads doing fitness work because they didn’t get a shirt today. That’s an absolutely fantastic attitude and I think that’s the direction for the club to go in. Everyone is in it together.”
And Powell also praised the Skelmersdale United faithful, who he believes pushed his side to a second successive home victory.
“The fans on the side were constructive all the way through. They supported the lads - they didn’t get too frustrated which has happened in the past and rubbed off on the lads.
“The support was tremendous tonight and it helped the lads perform. It wasn’t the prettiest at times, but the commitment shown was outstanding.”
Skelmersdale travel to Hyde United this weekend looking to continue their recent run of good results.
Burscough are now just three points above the relegation zone after losing 3-2 away to high-flying City of Liverpool last weekend.
Chad Whyte continued his scintillating form by bagging both goals for the Linnets, but despite a vastly improved display from their 4-2 defeat to Congleton at the end of March, Dave Sutton’s men continue to leak goals.
The strugglers would have identified Tuesday evening’s trip to Bootle as a chance to redeem themselves, but a late pitch inspection deemed the playing surface unsuitable.
Burscough, despite contesting a Macron Cup semi-final on Saturday, will now have one eye on the Hallmark Security Premier Division table.
Maine Road are one win away from matching their points tally, but Burscough do boast a much better goal difference.
The Manchester outfit face 17th-place Winsford United at home on Saturday afternoon.
Burscough could well be hoping for survival-by-stealth.
Maine Road have lost nine of their last ten games, while AFC Liverpool - five points adrift with a game in hand - have won two games since Christmas and last won at home in December.
After their win on Saturday, City of Liverpool took to social media to say: “Would like to wish Burscough good luck for the rest of the season.
“How they are fifth [from] bottom we don’t know - both games against them really tight.”
With just six league games now remaining, Sutton’s men need points more than kind words.
Their cup double w i th nice dis- to have at semi- final he a d e r Irlam is a t raction this point in the season, but their next league game - at home to Ashton next Thursday - is considerably more important to their long-term ambitions.