There were mixed fortunes for local rivals Cleator Moor Celtic and Whitehaven in the West Lancashire League.
Celtic bounced back from two successive defeats – the second in the County Cup against Whitehaven – to win 1-0 at Blackpool Wren Rovers.
Whitehaven, buoyed by that Cup success on the back of a League victory, were brought back to earth with a 6-2 defeat at Tempest United.
A Luke Close penalty after 13 minutes was enough to win the game for Celtic against a side who had started the day third in the table.
Assistant coach Daryl Fearon said: “It was always going to be a tough game, made even tougher with half our squad missing but what a performance the lads put in. You can’t beat the feeling of getting three points on the road.
“That performance was exactly what we needed after our last two results and will give everyone a massive lift.
“Everybody played out of their skins and ran themselves into the ground to make sure we came home with the win. We look forward now to the trip to Hurst Green on Saturday.”
Whitehaven twice held the lead in Bolton against Tempest before going down 6-2.
Owen Woodburn fired them ahead after 15 minutes and after Tempest equalised five minutes later Brad Harrison restored the Whitehaven lead on the half hour. But in a crazy seven minute spell before half-time Tempest netted three times.
They scored two more without reply in the second-half to leave Whitehaven pointless after what had been a bright start in really poor weather conditions.
Coach Carl Short said: “It was a disappointing game and one that we put down to a bad day at the office.
“The lads must learn from these moments. We do have a young side and these sort of results will come but we must improve our away form quickly and that all comes from hard work and willing to go beyond the pain barrier..
“We have Poulton at home on Saturday which will be another battle against a strong side.”
Poulton are one place and one point better off than Whitehaven in the table as they 11th and 12th of 17.
