IT was a very happy reunion with his former club for Northwich Victoria manager Steve Wilkes.

He spent almost a decade as manager of Saturday's opponents Padiham across two spells, but his loyalties now lie with Vics and he guided them to a 3-1 win over the Storks at Wincham Park.

Two Brandon Barski goals either side of a Sean Ince equaliser proved pivotal for the hosts, with Thomas Powell adding a late third.

All four goals came in the second half, with Barski breaking the deadlock less than 60 seconds after the restart.

"I said to the players at half time that we needed something to kick-start the game and we scored a great goal in the first minute," Wilkes said.

"It’s really pleasing when you work on set pieces like we do and we’re scoring a lot of goals from set pieces at the minute.

"We were sloppy for their goal but I was pleased with how we kicked on after that because how many times have we lost leads this season?"

Barski's double means he has now struck five times in his past four appearances - an impressive scoring rate for a defender.

He also scored twice in last weekend's 4-2 win at Congleton Town.

"He used to be a striker until we converted him into a centre-half," Wilkes said.

"Brandon is doing really well. He’s a fans favourite, puts his head in where it hurts and tackles.

"We’re still working on his distribution but I’m really pleased for him. He rarely misses training."