RADCLIFFE Borough manager Danny Johnson was left to rue a combination of bad luck and poor decisions as his side fell to back-to-back defeats over the Easter weekend.

The Boro boss saw Saturday's match at Ossett Town abandoned at 1-1 with just five minutes remaining following a serious injury to debutant Reece Welsh. He then lost another player, Matthew Davies, to a harsh sending off in the 2-0 home defeat against Salford City on Monday.

"We're just not getting any luck at the moment," he told the Radcliffe Times.

"It's disappointing because we were heading for a priceless point against Ossett and then the match was rightly abandoned because of the injury, and against Salford we lost another man and he'll be suspended for a couple of matches."

Right-back Welsh was making his first start for the Stainton Park outfit at Ossett Town but his and Boro's day was cut short on 85 minutes when he suffered a broken ankle following a tackle by Sam Okeroyd.

"It was a poor challenge and a horrible incident," said Johnson

"Reece had a successful operation on his ankle on Monday and we're probably looking at about six months before we'll see him on the pitch again.

"The official made the correct decision in abandoning the match because it was more about Reece than finishing the game."

Ossett took the lead on 11 minutes through captain Steven Jeff and despite a number of opportunities, Boro were unable to get back into the game following a poor first half display.

"I lost my temper with the lads for the first time at the break," said Johnson.

"I just felt we were way off where we should be.

"They came out in the second half and really grabbed hold of the game.

"We got the equaliser through Davies and probably should have scored one or two more to really put us in control."

In contrast, Boro put up a brave fight against big-spending league leaders Salford City on Monday, successfully holding the high-flyers to a goalless draw for almost an hour, despite having midfielder Davies sent off on 35 minutes, before succumbing to a brace from Gareth Seddon.

"The lads were magnificent. It was top against bottom and you wouldn't have known which team was which," said Johnson.

"We had a man sent off but at 0-0 the game was still very even and we probably edged the first half.

"I thought the sending off was a poor decision by the referee. The two lads (Davies and Chris Lynch) went in for a fair tackle and it was difficult to see who got the ball and who didn't."

Boro will be looking to ease their relegation fears when they travel to ninth-placed Harrogate Railway Athletic on Saturday, before the replay at Ossett Town on Tuesday, with Johnson hoping his side can take the positives from their performance against Salford into the games.

"Harrogate had a couple of good results against Spennymoor and Burscough over the Easter period so we are going to be up against it.

"But we've got to go there with confidence and try to get something from the game.

"We're not far away. I'm really pleased with the group.

"Everyone is pulling in the right direction and if we continue to do that we'll be okay.

"New Mills still have to catch us. They need two wins from five games to draw level so we've just got to keep going.

"It's in our own hands and hopefully another point or two will keep us safe."