Neil Young has praised his players’ mentality in their win over Radcliffe Borough but says Marine have to keep going.
Fin Sinclair-Smith added two goals to his growing tally as both he and Sol Solomon marked their first outing alongside each other with goals.
The Jersey fan-favourite smashed home to double Marine’s lead over Borough inside 15 minutes, after Sinclair-Smith’s deflected free-kick beat Mateusz Hewelt three minutes in.
An eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions was on the line for the hosts, meanwhile Radcliffe’s 100 percent record in the league was at stake going into Tuesday night’s encounter.
It was a nightmare start on their visit to Rossett Park but they managed to halve the deficit on the stroke of half-time through Jamie Morgan.
There was a stroke of luck for Marine’s third and Sinclair-Smith’s second as his effort squirmed beyond the former Everton and Tranmere Rovers shot-stopper.
Josh Hancock provided a nervy conclusion with his well-taken effort following a solo-run through the Mariners’ defence. But the hosts withstood pressure to claim that points, Young noted the triumph as a “great win” over a side he’s tipping to win the title.
“To beat Radcliffe at home at this stage of the season is a great win. Not just in terms of three points but it’s good for our confidence, what we’re doing and that it’s taking us in the right path,” he told Off The Park.
“If anyone finishes above them, they’ll do well and if anyone finishes above them they win the league, in my opinion.
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“I’ve seen them now, the players and squad they’ve got – Bernard and Jonno, they’ve won the league and leagues above, great experience – we just need to keep going.
“I’ve been most pleased with the mentality, I can’t keep saying it to them. We went to Spennymoor, got a draw – when we probably should’ve won the game – and we were much better on the Tuesday (in the replay), that takes mentality to go again.
“On Saturday, we wasn’t great but we found a way between us. (It was) another big game tonight against really tough opponents and we’ve managed to get over the line. For our confidence, it’s really good, it’s a bit of belief in what we’re doing as staff and it’s good for the players too.”
Marine are enjoying a positive run of form, a month after their successive defeats in the league to Whitby Town and Hyde United dampened a good start.
A packed September has followed which has seen the Mariners remain with the leading pack, now five points off the leaders following Tuesday’s win, as well as back-to-back weekends in the FA Cup and FA Trophy.
Young notes that he is beginning to see signs of what he wants from his side as another hectic period beckons.
He added: “I’m elated that we won the game, it waa a tough game. We’ve come up against a very good side who have won eight out of eight, so that tells you everything. They have some great players, they play a brand of football which is very difficult to work against.
“We knew we had to put a dent in the game, we knew we had to do it early doors because they’re a really good side and we needed to see if we could pinch the ball high up and break on them.
“It’s three points now and it’s good for us as a team because we’re fairly new. We beat FC United here, everyone was getting a little bit carried away and I wasn’t playing it down, I didn’t see anything in that game that we worked on.
“Now, I’m seeing a lot of what we’re working on. We seen tonight we changed the shape again and on Saturday and against Spennymoor, so the lads are adapting.”
[Featured Image: Susan Nugent]
