PAUL Bowyer has said a derby win against Winsford United can be a catalyst for 1874 Northwich after the disappointment of their FA Vase exit.

A 1-0 victory against Blues on Thursday, when Ryan Mitchell scored in the fifth minute of added time, is a first since a semi-finals defeat against Thatcham Town last month.

“It felt significant,” said the co-manager, referring to that midweek triumph.

“Everybody needed a lift, particularly as we feel our performances in the past few games deserved more.

“I’m made up for the players, and our target now is to get on a roll if we can.

“It had been a difficult 10 days or so since losing to Thatcham, although the players have kept a hunger to be successful.”

They will need it against Irlam, who have prevailed in six of their past seven games in all competitions.

That sequence includes a 2-1 win against 1874 at St Luke’s Barton Stadium last week.

A narrow victory at Padiham in midweek leaves them nine points clear of the North West Counties League Premier Division’s bottom four with 13 games left.

However Bowyer told the Guardian he had taken comfort from how his players ground out a success against another in-form opponent.

He added: “We’ll probably need to pick up points like that often.

“It took another late goal to beat Winsford, and we’ve had a few of those now. It’s not a coincident.

“I think we looked fitter than they did, plus we were able to introduce substitutes that made an impact. That helped us.

“To keep a clean-sheet is always nice, but what we take most heart from is the persistence to keep going and get a positive result.”