PAUL Bowyer has stressed the importance of 1874 Northwich extending a winning run before they change focus to the FA Vase.

A victory at Barnoldswick tomorrow would be a third away from home in a seven-day spell following hard-earned successes at Bootle and neighbours Barnton.

“We’re trying to get on a roll,” said the co-manager.

“It’s something that we’ve done previously, and with a busy schedule ahead of us there is an opportunity to do the same again.

“Winning back-to-back games is a first step.”

However a trip to Lancashire, to play Barlick, has proven a difficult one previously.

1874 let slip at two-goal lead during a 2-2 draw in last season’s corresponding fixture, which followed a 2-1 reverse in the campaign before that.

Bowyer told the Guardian that his side hit the road again buoyed by prevailing in a battle with Barnton, who twice drew level before succumbing to substitute Sam Hind’s late winner.

He added: “We know Barnoldswick is a testing away day.

“However we had to show character on Wednesday; we didn’t dominate the game, and instead had to keep going when they kept coming back at us.

“We expected a high-scoring game, and can take lots of positives from coming out on top.

“Barnton always raise their game against us; they’re a side with a lot of local lads, and they want to get one over on us when we meet.”

1874’s squad will again be tested this weekend after Jack Lever’s name was added to a list of injury absentees.

While an x-ray has revealed no significant damage to his knee, he will still be ruled out for the next few weeks.

Paul Connor and Taylor Kennerley are both banned, while in-form midfielder Jake Parker (Achilles) sits out as a precaution after aggravating an existing complaint.

Bowyer said: “It was great to have guys like Kyle [Riley] and Sam [Hind] to come off the bench.

“We want competition for places, although injuries and unavailability mean we’ve very often only had 16 lads to pick from.

“That’s slowly changing, but we’ll need everybody again this weekend.”