Skelmersdale United manager Richard Brodie says his side have to ‘kick on’ against Prescot Cables as their opponents look to bounce back.
Skem ended their losing run with a 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Widnes after goals from Ste Milne and Matty Hamilton.
The triumph saw them move away from the bottom four but they aren’t completely out of the water as they sit just a point clear.
Brodie praised his side, he told Off The Park: “Great win, I said before points are more important than performances, what I seen was a side of the lads that we need towards the end of the season to have a little bit of grit, determination and they came out with loads of credit in difficult conditions.
“I thought every one of them, the subs, the lads that didn’t come on played their part, at this time of year, when the weather starts changing and the fixtures [pile up], the lads need to stand up and be counted, they did.”
As a result of the win, Skelmersdale United picked up their first clean sheet since the end of October when they beat Mossley 1-0. Denying Widnes an avenue back into the game was the icing on the cake for the Skem boss as he lauded their defensive work.
“I would’ve been disappointed if we would’ve won the game 2-1 towards the end because the lads deserve that clean sheet,” he said.
“To be honest did they look like scoring? Joe Herbert’s made an unbelievable block which is as good as a goal at 1-0. We didn’t concede early, we go in at half-time 0-0, it can still go either way and the way it’s going for us, they could get a corner and score which is how things have been going for us but that luck changed.
“With the first goal, it’s got parried to Matty’s feet, he’s scored, we went on to create chances and it could’ve been more. The two goals came between the two posts and that comes from putting balls in the right areas, it doesn’t have to be a wonder goal.
“Pretty much everything,” he added on what pleased him the most from the Boxing Day win. “I believe if you work hard you earn your own luck and we haven’t have that.
“We kept a clean sheet off a goalkeeper who is top class, not just as a goalkeeper but to have around the dressing room, a back three that look solid and going forward, we’ve got that many players that can create and come off of the bench, Matty’s come on, it’s ricocheted to him and he’s scored.
“He’s been very patient, Taylor Prescott played in three different positions and was fantastic in all three. I don’t want to single anyone out because it was a proper team performance. The hail started coming down and some people can go missing but none of ours did.”
They face a trip to Prescot Cables to start 2023. Kevin Lynch’s side go into the derby clash on the back of their 3-1 defeat to neighbours Bootle.
Jack Goodwin opened the scoring inside two minutes but the Bucks battled back and for Brodie he is expecting a reaction from the Bulls.
But he has reiterated that his side have to “kick on” from their Boxing Day win.
He said: “We have to go again, the lads have come back from the break refreshed, we had the game at Bamber Bridge, it might sound crazy but we’re going to Prescot Cables, on grass, we can’t just be an astro turf team or a grass team, we have to adapt to different situations.
“Prescot Cables is going to be a completely different kettle of fish to watch Widnes were for different reasons, it’s going to be horrible, it’s going to be a battle, it’s not a nice place to go and that’s a compliment to them.
“We have to go and dig in, we’re not going to be able to play pretty football, we’re going to have to adapt to a situation and add all the strings to our bow which is going to help us, hopefully, get as many points as we need to start climbing that table. Hopefully our season kickstarted and long may it continue.
“People are going to look at us in the table and think Skem are beatable, listen let them think that.
“At the minute, we’re concentrating and focusing on what we need to do, we’ll do our homework but we have to focus on us, the job that we’ve got because our performances, results are in our own hands and we have to look after ourselves.
“We will contribute what we need to get a result, forget everyone else at the moment – they’re going to look to bounce back but we’re looking to kick on.”
