Special Report As Woking Make A Mockery Of The Bookies Again

But the National League has certainly chewed up a number of football accumulators over the past six months and spat them out.

This was another example of the unpredictable nature of a division which is becoming harder to forecast with any kind of authority.

For Anthony Limbrick, finally some salvation. The likeable Australian has found himself under some pressure and although the first test of his fledgling managerial career has yet to be totally passed, this was a result that sets his team firmly on the right path again.

Dropping like a stone, they are now 15th and the gap between Limbrick’s young side and the bottom four that threatened to suck them in is nine points. There are surely four worse teams.

“To get that win after so long was really good,” he said after. “We had a lot of questions asked of us after we lost to Solihull last Saturday. I thought the players rallied around and on Tuesday (at Gateshead) put in a very good performance.

“We have stuck by what we have been doing. There has been no panic from us at our end and the people at the club have been very supportive of me.

“We don’t think we have been that far away and we knew we would turn the corner soon. We’ve not quite done that much, but it was a fantastic win.

“You never lose belief. Credit to our defence, we have missed some players and had to reshuffle a number of times. To keep a clean sheet against such freescoring opposition is very pleasing.

“Our goal remains what it always has been, and that’s a top half finish. “

Keeping Fylde, the league’s top scorers, not only out but quiet considering their terrible form is one of the results of the season.

Though there was a sour taste to the victory. Match winner Lazar Stojsavljevic, the Serbian central defender, needed half an hour of treatment on the pitch at full-time after taking a blow to the head just as the final whistle went.

“He’s regained consciousness but we were worried at one point,” the manager added. “But it shows what this club is about that so many of the fans waited in the stands to make sure he was OK before going home.

“With a bit of luck, Lazar will be able to play in our next game in a few weeks from now. Injuries like that are always so concerning and after scoring the vital goal, hospital is not how he wanted to end his day."

“We knew if we could take that performance up at Gateshead into our next matches then the win would come,” Limbrick added. “We competed, we were on the front foot and we were aggressive with our defending.

“To keep a clean sheet against AFC Fylde, who have scored nine goals in their past two matches and are six unbeaten - well I don’t think many people, including our own fans, would have given us too much of a chance!”