Brown's buoyed by form

The Dolly Blues saw a seven-game unbeaten run end at Glossop North End at the end of January but have bounced back with four points in two games against Northwich Victoria and Kendal Town at Giant Axe this week.

Brown thanked City’s fans for their support and was also keen to hand out praise to the club’s army of volunteers, who ensured that the 2-2 draw with high-flying Vics and the 3-1 derby win over the Mintcakes on Tuesday night went ahead.

The Blues boss said: “The fans have given us brilliant support since I’ve been back.

“I think the crowd was bigger than average against Kendal (357) but again it’s the only game on in the league.

“I’d like to pay homage to everyone who has worked on the pitch, not just since Saturday but in general.

“Over the last six or eight weeks the weather has been atrocious but we’ve had the vast majority of our games on.

“A tremendous amount of credit should go to everyone involved.

“Playing every week helps us build momentum. We’ve got a big semi-final coming up in the Lancashire Trophy (against Padiham on February 23) and I’d hate to go into that game rusty but we’re not going to playing every week.”

Brown was pleased with the points haul as the Dolly Blues battled back from two goals down to draw with Northwich and, despite a glut of chances, had to dig in for the Kendal win.

He said: “We set out to win the game on Tuesday, that was the message and the priority, and we did.

“We made hard work of it if I’m going to be really honest.

“I wasn’t happy at half-time with our intensity. We were off the pace a little bit and you could see that in our play.

“But if you’d have said to me before the game you’re going to win then I would have taken it.

“A draw against Northwich and a win in a derby against Kendal, four points from six, we’ve got to be happy with that even if we could have had two more after Saturday’s second-half performance.”

The derby win leaves City sixth but Brown’s men have played as many as six games more than some of their rivals.

One of them, Farsley, will pose City with a stern test on Saturday, the Yorkshire side having won 12 games in a row before last weekend’s 0-0 draw at Burscough. Brown said: “Farsley have had an unbelievable run.

“They’ve won 12 on the spin before the draw at Burscough.

“I’ve had reports back on them that they’ve got some decent players. It’s going to be a tough game but we’ll go out there to get something.”