Whitby Town 1 Stafford Rangers 2 - Report

Tom Thorley rolled Boro in front within the opening two minutes and Jake Charles might have made it two but saw his effort cannon back off the post.

An inadvertent header against the bar by a Stafford defender almost gifted Whitby a leveller but Rangers stamped their authority on the stroke of half-time when Louis Briscoe squeezed home a free-kick.

Stafford stayed solid in the second half and while Brad Fewster’s rebound halved the deficit four minutes from time, Meechan’s men always looked likely to pocket a precious three points on the road.

“As a group we were excellent and should have been three or four up to be honest,” said Meechan.

“Jake Charles missed a one-on-one but Louis Briscoe stepped up to score a free-kick just before half-time which gave us that bit of breathing space.

“At half-time we reiterated the need to keep our wits about us and stay strong. Naturally we dropped a bit deeper in the second half but we dug deep and the back five were excellent, so were the two central midfielders Andrai Jones and Tom Thorley.

“It is in our hands with three to play, we have given ourselves a great platform but we cannot stop the hard work. That is why we are now looking up the table rather than down it.

“We have brought other teams into it through application and commitment. We have proven we can be a match for any team in any game, now we need to get over the line before we think about next season.”

Boro: Siviter, Bignot, Hill, L Jones, Burns, Sherratt (Mills, 74), Bailey-Jones, Thorley, Charles (Williams, 84), A Jones, Briscoe (Cuff, 54). Unused subs: Davies, Thandi.

Attendance: 367.