CARL Macauley lifted the FA Trophy as captain of Burscough more than a decade ago.

More recently, he has been lifting spirits at Witton Albion.

His side’s latest success, achieved playing with 10 men for almost all of the second half following debutant Callum Hassan’s dismissal, is their fourth in the past six matches.

They are now higher in the table than at any point previously in his short tenure.

At the turn of the year, this will have felt the most formidable of Albion’s fixtures during January.

Indeed, the Linnets had avoided defeat in a league game since early September before last weekend’s home reverse against Spennymoor.

Now, after successive losses, their place in the top five feels vulnerable.

Burscough took the lead after 27 minutes, Will Jones converting winger Drew Lewis’ assist from inside the penalty area.

Witton responded, restoring parity when Hassan steered a loose ball past goalkeeper Calvin Hare following a mix-up in the hosts’ defence.

Hassan’s next notable involvement, shortly after half-time, resulted in him receiving a red card from referee Paul Hodskinson following a clash with an opponent when they challenged for a high ball.

Macauley’s men did not buckle, instead edging ahead on 62 minutes when Jamie Matthews’ exquisite lob from distance left Hare with no chance to save.

He shot wide with a quarter of an hour to go, then Witton extended their lead to 3-1 when Rob Hopley sent a perfectly-placed header past Burscough’s number one.

Substitute Liam Rice reduced the home team’s arrears from their first attack after the restart, but Albion’s defence survived a pair of set-piece scares while protecting a sixth maximum-points haul on the road this term.

They have achieved half of those from a losing position.

No rival can match their tally of 28 goals in away games to date either.

Burscough | Hare (GK), Camozzi, Devine, Brown, Ryan, Williams, Askew (Rice 60), Smart (Conway 69), Jones, Caddick, Lewis (Whittington 69) Subs not used Jewell, Noon Goals Jones 27, Rice 86

Witton | Firth (GK), Gardner, Ellison, Wilson, Dawson, Matthews (Parker 84), Reeves, Schofield, Andrews, Hopley, Hassan Subs not used Neild (GK), Chrisokou, Bainbridge Goals Hassan 31, Matthews 62, Hopley 85 Sent off Hassan (violent conduct)

Referee Paul Hodskinson

Attendance 250