Carlisle City are seventh in the Northern League First Division but still mathematically in the hunt for a top five play-off spot.
They kept their challenge going with a hard-fought 1-0 win at improving Redcar Athletic as centre-half Dan Kirkup grabbed the only goal of the game.
Manager Jim Nichols said: “We were looking for a reaction after our performance on Tuesday and we certainly got it.
“Redcar have taken a lot of players from NPL side Marske after they folded and have been showing improved form. We had to work on a plan to counter their dangerous attackers in particular, and it worked a treat,
“We had gone there without two of our regular defenders in Jack Dickenson (working) and Kieran Olsen (ill), so it was a special effort by everybody.
“To be fair our goalkeeper had only one save to make in the first-half and then two in the last minute of the game, but was otherwise relatively untroubled.
“We now have 22 more points than we finished with last season, which is an achievement, still with five games to go. We will be looking to get as many points from those games and see where it takes us.”
The winning goal came on 69 minutes from a corner when Dan Kirkup found the back of the net with a diving header.
City have a double header over Easter – home to Guisborough on Good Friday and at local rivals Penrith on Easter Monday.
