FARSLEY Celtic’s promotion hopes were dealt a huge blow as they suffered a home defeat in the Evo-Stik League Premier Division to basement outfit Sutton Coldfield Town.

The Royals pitched up at Throstle Nest with nothing to lose but they gained everything after snatching a second-minute goal and holding on.

The visitors stunned the home side when a ball dropped on the edge of the area after an early foray and Gurjit Singh lashed it in on the half- volley past Farsley keeper Kyle Trenerry.

There were chances for the Celts in the first half, with the best ones falling to Ryan Watson, but the midfielder didn’t have his shooting boots on.

He fired just off target on a couple of occasions, and Trenerry had to make two fine saves to prevent the visitors from extending their lead.

The Royals probably edged the first half in terms of possession and goal attempts, but they were tested after the break and desperately hung on.

A Lewis Turner header, from an Adam Priestley cross, was cleared off the line, and another Watson effort grazed the bar on it’s way over, but with the Celts going gung-ho the Royals almost netted a second late on, with Tyler Lyttle’s shot hitting the post.

It was only Sutton’s fourth win of the season from 24 starts, but it was not enough to lift them off the foot of the table.

Farsley remained fifth, despite the defeat, as six of the scheduled ten top-tier fixtures were postponed. However, they have now played four more games than some of their promotion rivals.

There was a similar story in Division One North, which had four games called off, and Brighouse Town’s trip to Mossley was in doubt after an overnight snowfall across the Pennines.

The Lillywhites worked hard on their ground in the morning and, after the game got the go-ahead, Town must have been pleased with the efforts of their hosts.

After a goalless first half, Town broke the deadlock through Marcus Day but Mossley’s Mason Duffy equalised midway through the second period, and a stoppage-time strike by former Town striker Mike Fish gave the home side all three points to leave Town in the bottom three.