Penrith picked up three valuable points when they beat Crook Town 2-1 at Frenchfield in Northern League Division One.
The visitors had full-back Toby Pascoe sent off after 20 minutes and Penrith scored from the resultant free-kick. Although keeper Ronan Makepeace made the save home skipper Adam Main was following-up to bang in the rebound.
Crook then did their best to frustrate the home side and rely on breaks and although Penrith dominated possession and territory they weren’t able to add to their lead until the second-half.
They were awarded a penalty in the 62nd minute and Johnny Murray converted to double the advantage.
The only downside for Penrith was that Crook actually managed a goal in the 90th minute through Jamie Nash to create a late concern.
Manager Darren Edmondson was pleased with the performance and the result with a week now to prepare for an important game on Saturday at Thornaby.
“The team is playing with a bit of belief and confidence now and we certainly started on the front foot and played some good stuff.
“The sending-off meant they strung six players across the back and as we’ve seen in the World Cup it can be difficult to penetrate. But we got there which was important.
“We had Robbie Hebson in for a second debut, looking for game time after a long injury lay-off, and he got 75 minutes which was pleasing.
“On Saturday we go to bottom side Thornaby but we won’t be taking anything for granted. We have games in hand on teams around us but that doesn’t mean anything unless you win those games,” said Edmondson.
