Avro manager Alex Frost hailed his side's fantastic team spirit after two gutsy performances yielded four points out of six over the Bank Holiday Weekend, writes Liam Bambridge.

After substitute Muis Bibire Bello's 87th minute equaliser had earned the Ro a 2-2 draw last Saturday against a strong Witton Albion side, they followed it up with a 3-2 victory in their local derby against Stalybridge Celtic on Bank Holiday Monday at the Vestacare Stadium, despite playing without a recognised keeper for more than 80 minutes after Grant Shenton was sent off.

"An unbelievable weekend from our perspective," admitted Frost. "The lads had to pull in a real shift on Saturday to get a point, and then less than 48 hours later they were back at it against a side that were two divisions higher than us last season, and who had not lost yet since the start of this one.

"To win that game from 2-1 down at half time with ten men and an outfield player in goal just shows what a fantastic team spirit we have in our dressing room right now."

The afternoon had started well for the home side, with Deane Smalley firing them into the lead within the first three minutes after good work from Liam Ellis on the right. However, five minutes later Shenton and Celtic striker Obua Mugalula collided just inside the area, and the referee gave the keeper as well as awarding a penalty, which Max Harrop duly dispatched to bring his side level.

"I must admit that I was a bit surprised," added Frost. "I can see why he has given a penalty, but I thought the red card was very harsh.

"I think a lot of teams would have struggled to recover from that, but this group of lads are so strong mentally and even when we were behind at the break, they truly believed that they could win the game.

A Jake Cottrell thunderbolt early in the second half restored parity, and with twenty minutes remaining, Smalley raced onto a defence splitting pass from Matty Crothers before cutting inside the last defender and coolly slotting home the winner.

Jack Morrow had become the third outfield player to don the gloves just before the interval, and he emerged with the distinction of a clean sheet as his side held on for a scarcely credible triumph before a top of the table clash against Chasetown this weekend.

"I am delighted for them all," said Frost. "However, ultimately they know that it is still only three points and we have another really tough game coming up this weekend. Chasetown have also started really well so we will need to be at our best again if want to come home with anything from that one."