A WEEK or so ago, all of the talk among Darlo fans was the brutal nature of our run in. All those games in such a short space of time. Suddenly, Tuesday night’s game with Skelmersdale seems like an eternity away. I want to play them now!

Saturday’s trip to Grantham was fantastic on several levels. First and foremost, we won. The performance wasn’t sensational but it was solid. For me, what was really pleasing was that we didn’t over commit looking for the win.

In some of the recent games, particularly at Frickley, we have left our defence looking pretty exposed because we’ve needlessly chased after the game. Patience is the key. We’re a better team than those we’re facing. The chances will come. They’ll tire. Just don’t go gung-ho unnecessarily early. We didn’t.

Just to add to the occasion, Blyth lost. Now, they have had some sketchy moments in recent games. However, they’re a good side and inevitably, have the capacity to rectify situations where they find themselves behind. With that in mind, having heard that they’d gone behind, I decided to ban myself from Twitter; I didn’t want to get my hopes up only for them to be dashed like their game at Ilkeston last week.

As it turns out, I must have been about the only person in the stand not frantically refreshing a mobile phone to find out what was happening. Cue the wild celebration when news filtered through.

Clearly aware of the fans celebrating, the players appeared to be buoyed by the Blyth result, got the second goal and secured the win.

Speaking of being buoyed, the atmosphere generated by the Darlo fans was fantastic. As with any ground with a running track around it, Grantham’s ground is often accused of lacking atmosphere. As it turns out, the atmosphere is just fine. All you have to do is add around 500 Darlo fans to the equation and the place is bouncing.

The only negative for the day was collecting a couple of injuries. It was always going to be a risk with such a hectic fixture list although to lose two midfielders in one game was extremely unfortunate. Losing Phil Turnbull to a hamstring injury is a massive blow. With only two weeks left in the league, it must be doubtful whether he can return. However, in Tom Portas, we have the perfect readymade replacement.

Leon Scott went off with what looked like a back injury. If I’m completely honest, I think Leon’s form has dipped a little of late and if he is out for a game or two, it will finally give Adam Nowakowski a deserved run in the middle of the park. For those who were at Nantwich last month, most will have been left a little confused as to why the ex-Harrogate Town man hasn’t featured more often.

So, we move on to Tuesday and Skelmersdale at home. We can’t take them lightly given what they did at Blyth on Saturday, but I would find it hard not to expect a home win to kick off our run of three games at Heritage Park against bottom half opposition. Let’s hope for a good crowd, a good atmosphere and a good result.