THE battle to beat the drop is firmly on for Steeton as they recorded a great 3-2 away victory to complete a league double over Golcar United and move off the basement of the North West Counties League First Division North.

The game ironically was being played in Lancashire, at the home of Avro, following the pitch issues suffered of late by the home side. There were no issues with the surface as the 3G pitch allowed for a fast and feisty 90 minutes to be played in front of the 104 spectators.

In a cagey opening spell it was the visitors who had the better chances and they felt hard done by when Harrison Blackwell appeared to have his legs taken from him in the box. Despite Steeton’s protests the referee waved play on much to the bemusement of the men wearing orange.

Steeton took the lead 25 minutes in after Alistair Morgan played a through ball to Kayle Price who confidently fired home. It was no more than Steeton deserved, a fair reflection on the balance of play.

The hosts were now starting to push forward a bit and Morgan was forced to clear from underneath his own crossbar.

The second half saw Golcar come out stronger but thanks to the experienced Jerry White marshalling his back four well they were restricted to long range efforts.

Morgan went close to doubling the lead, but his header from a corner was straight at Harry Stead in the Golcar goal.

The home side did manage to draw level on the hour mark when a cross was not dealt with and Reben Noble Lazarus was on hand to flick the ball over the outstretched Fletcher Paley.

Parity did not last long though as within two minutes Steeton had regained the lead. Toby Jeffrey whipped in a cross from the right and Morgan powered an unstoppable header past the flat-footed Stead.

The away side were now beginning to grow in confidence. Tim Hird and Steve Pearson were winning the midfield battle.

Luke Baldwin was proving too much for the United defence and he found himself bearing down on goal but pulled his shot wide of the target.

The third goal came with the move of the match. Blackwell fed Price, whose trickery was too much for the home defence and he rolled the ball back for Jeffrey to finish well for a Steeton third.

Baldwin again had a great chance to seal things but dragged his effort wide of the post.

Fifth-placed Golcar set up a nervy finish as a Alex Hallam strike from the edge of the box with five minutes remaining ensured that Steeton would have to face a nervy ending.

The Chevrons survived six minutes of added time before finally celebrating the valuable victory.

Manager Roy Mason was delighted with the win and his side's performance: “I felt we were the dominant side for large periods of the game and we thoroughly deserved the points.

"We now need to build on this result and look to gain momentum for the final few weeks of the season.”

Steeton: Paley, Darkins, Scott, Morgan, White, Hird, Jeffrey, Pearson, Price, Blackwell, Baldwin. Subs not used: Bartley, Stein, Bullock.