CARL Macauley has reminded Witton Albion’s players of their defensive responsibilities ahead of a trip to Whitby Town on Saturday.

He told the Guardian he isn’t afraid to ‘shut up shop’ by the seaside if it reduces a risk his side will concede goals in a way that cost them victory against Matlock last weekend.

They twice let slip a lead in a 3-3 draw.

“Rest assured Whitby will have done their homework on us,” said Macauley.

“We’ll go there and look to repeat what we did at Stourbridge when we kept a clean-sheet.

“That means being solid, although of course we want to return home with a positive result.”

Witton make a long trip to North Yorkshire buoyed by beating Barnton in a Mid-Cheshire District FA Senior Cup semi-final on Tuesday.

Anthony Brown and Steven Tames, twice, scored in a 3-0 win.

That clinches a date with Winsford United or 1874 Northwich, who meet in January.

Macauley said: “It was a good night’s work for us; we got a result, scored a few goals and shut them out.

“We huffed and puffed in the first-half until we broke through from a set-piece, but I felt we improved a lot after the interval and did enough to get through.

“It was important to get a victory ahead of playing Whitby, not so much because our confidence needs it but rather to kick-start things and hopefully put together a run of wins.

“We showed Barnton respect, and selected a strong side.”

Witton start this weekend’s encounter sitting 12th in the Northern Premier League’s top-flight.

Had they beaten Matlock they would have returned to the top 10.

Macauley said: “If you score three goals at home, then you expect to win.

“In that respect, we dropped two points.

“However we showed character as well to recover from the disappointment of going behind at 3-2 – it was important to respond, and we did.”