Bootle manager Brian Richardson was delighted with the win over Kidsgrove Athletic as they face Warrington Rylands.
The Bucks returned to winning ways after a difficult spell but they shook off an early scare to hand the Grove successive defeats.
Their trend of starting slow seemed to pass it didn’t stop the hosts from finding the back of the net within 18 minutes.
But a quickfire double from Jack McGowan put Bootle in front as his brace proved to be enough to send the Bucks up the Northern Premier League West table.
Up next is the free-scoring Rylands who fired eight past Ramsbottom last time out as David McNabb looks to pile the pressure on league leaders Marine and cut the gap at the top of the table.
“I thought we played really well, started really well, we had discussed the fact we don’t seem to get going till the second half, the lads really give it their best go,” Brian Richardson told Off The Park.
“Then after a lot of pressure they scored with the first proper chance. Luckily recovered quite quickly, got to 2-1 never felt we were going to lose it really. Every team has a flurry last five but we looked quite confident so a good day at the office.
“I thought some of the football we played was exceptional, privacy as good as we’ve played in spells. But you can’t sustain that for 90 minutes, you’re always going to have spells in it every game when you’re without the ball, it’s about how effective you are with it. I thought we did that quite well, limited the chances they go and looked reasonably comfortable.
“It was coming back within five minutes that pleased me the most. We took control of the game back that we might’ve temporarily lost but I felt we controlled it well first 15. A good result with a team who drawn at Leek, beat City of Liverpool both them sides are decent so you’ve got to look at it and got to be happy with the result.
“They’re doing well and you’d expect that. They’ve got a big squad, good budget, without being unkind they’re not a surprise package.
“Think everyone knew after the FA Vase last year that they would come stronger, with that but of gusto to get out of the league.
“I always feel clubs like that sometimes, if they come under pressure, there’s more of a backlash like when they got beat at Runcorn couple of weeks ago, it’s more of a big deal than if we get beat. That’s because of the expectation on their management team and it can make teams vulnerable when there’s massive expectation.
“I think when you’re classed as one of the favourites, we’ve seen teams higher up the spectrum buckle under the pressure. Last week was a big win for them and not many teams win 8-0 at this level but fair play to them for a good bounce back.
“You’ve got to do the same thing against good sides that you do against poor sides. Sometimes I think playing good sides gives you more of an edge.
“I think when you’re playing sides that you think will be a pushover that’s when your mental aspect comes in and that’s when you’ve got to treat teams with the same respect. Lads look at league tables and these are the types of games where players challenge themselves and say ‘how good am I?’”
