Evo-Stik Division One North: Farsley Celtic 3 Scarborough Athletic 1

FARSLEY Celtic hauled themselves out of the relegation zone with a confidence-boosting win over mid-table Scarborough Athletic.

The Celts fell behind to a late first-half penalty but led going into the break after a flurry of action.

They defended well in the second half, despite having recent regular Paddy Miller out, and put the gloss on their victory with a third goal minutes from time.

Delighted Farsley boss Neil Parsley said: “I’m very pleased with the three points, which I have to say were earned in very difficult conditions because of the weather.

“It was a dogged performance and, although we got a deserved win, I think we’ve played better in other games and yet got nothing from them.

"It wasn’t fluent, it wasn’t pretty but it was a very good win – an important win.

“On a day when a lot of games were affected by the heavy and constant rain, our pitch stood up well.

"There were a few scars on it by the end but the game didn’t turn into a lottery because of a boggy pitch.”

The Celts conceded a contentious penalty in the 43rd minute when Lewis Sugden was adjudged to have handled a cross into the area.

The Seadogs’ stalwart Ryan Blott then rifled the spot-kick past Tom Taylor.

Farsley pressed forward from the restart, and skipper Rob O’Brien led by example as he fired in the equaliser.

Paul Walker then put the home side in front with a direct free-kick just before half-time.

The game was still in the balance until Farsley’s Aiden Savory put it beyond doubt with a well-taken third.

The Boro keeper raced out of his area to make a clearance but only found Leon Osborne, who sent O’Brien on his way, and in turn he fed Savory.

Parsley added: “It was a massive boost for us, but to be fair not for the confidence of the players because they haven’t lacked that.

"They know we’ve been on a bad run but they’re aware that we haven’t been poor in games.

"I’ve seen the players at training and in the dressing room and they’re not short on confidence.

“You could see that when we went behind to a penalty that shouldn’t have been – it just hit Lewis he hasn’t made himself big, and then went down the other end and scored a good goal.

"Wakka' then hit a free-kick that their keeper spilled into the net before half-time to make my team talk a lot more straightforward. We’ve never doubted ourselves.”