AT this stage of the season, three points is the be all and end all of each game and Wednesday’s win over Altrincham falls in to that category. For long periods it wasn’t pretty but we got what we needed and we move on to the next game.

In perfect conditions under the considerable lights of Blackwell Meadows, I’ll be honest and say I was a little nervous before the game. Would we get it right offensively? Would our defence hold firm against the second lowest scorers in the division? All those doubts were lifted pretty quickly by Mark Beck’s early goal. Things got even better when Josh Falkingham, doing his best impression of the Energizer Bunny, ran on to a pass and fired home to put us two up. Talk about a perfect first 30 minutes.

Foolishly, I allowed myself to start thinking big. We could wallop these. They’re very poor. This will help our goal difference. Four minutes of thinking big was brought to a shuddering halt by yet another poor piece of defending. It reminded me that nothing is guaranteed when defensive positioning and marking seem to be such an insurmountable challenge at times.

The frustrating thing is Altrincham carried almost no threat. They looked like a team that is bound for the sticky glue league next season, and yet from the 33rd minute until the 80th when Terry Galbraith expertly slotted home the penalty that sealed the result, the 1,400 in attendance and the majority of those in black and white appeared to be bundle of nerves.

The tension in the Tin Shed was palpable. An early half chance for the visitors in the second half brought about a silence I’ve not heard in some time. You could have heard a pin drop from the other end of the iconic stand. Meanwhile, out on the pitch, the players seemed to be wary. I can imagine even the coolest of players would be cautious in their optimism when they know our form for conceding sloppy goals from out of nothing as we did in the first half.

Fortunately, a piece of individual excellence from David Ferguson eased the tension around the ground with his clever run from deep. With a couple of changes in pace, he drew the clumsy challenge and won the penalty. It was an easy decision for the referee and yet the Altrincham players still protested. After the Galbraith spot kick, Altrincham seemed to finally capitulate and I even fancied us getting a fourth which would have really flattered us.

Man of the match by a country mile was Josh Falkingham. He did his best to cover every blade of grass and provided dynamism in the centre of the park. Notable mentions also go out to Ferguson who seems to be settling in to the left back role nicely and Mark Beck who once again lead the line well.

With three much-needed points in the bag, we move on to Saturday’s game at Worcester City. Again, this is a must-win game against a side in freefall following a cut to their playing budget. Like Altrincham, Worcester City seem bound to be playing at a lower level next season and with that in mind, three points are again a necessity. Having picked up two points in their last six outings scoring just two goals, I would like to think that we can keep it tight at the back, giving the rest of the team the confidence and security they desperately need to take the sword to our hosts.