CARL Macauley has said his players responded in exactly the way he wanted to a first defeat of the season.

Witton Albion lost unexpectedly to lowly Carlton in the Northern Premier League last Saturday, but recovered to win 2-0 at fellow promotion-hopefuls Newcastle in midweek.

They returned to the table’s top five as a reward.

Macauley said: “It’s nice to be there, because that’s our aim this year.

“However I’m not spending much time studying the table in September.

“What mattered to me on Tuesday was these lads putting the previous game behind them quickly.

“That’s exactly what they did; I felt we controlled the game, and deserved the victory.”

Teenage front man Tolani Omotola, on loan from Tranmere Rovers, scored twice against opponents managed by former Albion boss Scott Dundas.

It increases his tally for the term to seven goals from only eight starts.

“I’m made up for Tol,” said Macauley.

“We definitely missed him during the FA Cup games against Stalybridge when he was out injured.

“He’s come back in and made an impact.

“It was nice as well to keep a clean sheet because we’d made uncharacteristic mistakes at the back against Carlton.

“I felt scoring first was the key to beating them, but I was proved wrong.

“We can defend better than we did there, and that’s what I saw midweek.”

Witton host Basford United this afternoon.

Their guests arrive in Northwich in confident mood after winning four of their past five Division One South matches.

They sit sixth, a point behind Albion.

With the exception of captain Anthony Gardner, who is away, Macauley has everybody available for selection.

He added: “It’s a nice situation to have the whole squad to pick from.

“And we’re expecting a tough game against a side that’s picked up points in the past few weeks.

“We’re glad to be back at home though after only playing two league games there so far.

“It’s a place we feel confident, and hopefully we can build on the result we got at Newcastle.”