SEDGLEY Park general manager Geoff Roberts hailed his side’s “outstanding” defence after they came from behind to win 22-17 at Luctonians last Saturday.

The fifth successive victory sees the Tigers handily placed in National Two North – six points behind leaders Sale FC in fourth place and with games in hand on the two sides between them, Hinckley and Stourbridge.

And the triumph was all the more impressive after they were dealt a late blow with number 10 Steve Collins injuring his hamstring in the warm-up before the game.

Tries from Danny Maher (two) and Callum McShane sealed the comeback win and Roberts was thrilled with the performance overall.

He told the Bury Times: “It was a really heavy pitch and a long journey of three hours looked to have taken its toll early on.

“We lost Steve Collins in the warm-up with a pulled hamstring and that meant a quick reshuffle which took us some time to adjust to with Olly Glasse coming in at number 10.

“Changing the dynamic of the team at the last minute didn’t help at all and it showed early on when Luctonians scored a try and the conversion made it 7-0.

“They put us under a lot of pressure in the scrum and with their heavier pack, it was hard for us.

“But we got back into it with Danny’s first try and then got to grips with the game.

“I have to say the defence won it for us – they were outstanding.

“In the second half, they had around 30 or 40 phases of play on our line but we held out and went down the other end and scored a try through Callum McShane.

“You could say on the day we took our opportunities because they had something like 80 per cent possession – at least that’s how it felt looking on.

“But it was a tough test to pass because we lost there last year.

“They always raise their game against the sides at the top so I was chuffed we got the win.”

It was an important victory for Sedgley after they lost ground the previous weekend when their home clash against Otley was postponed due to the bad weather.

It mean, though, seven of their last 10 matches are on home soil at Park Lane – starting with what will be another tight encounter against second-placed Stourbridge on Saturday.

Sedgley lost narrowly in the reverse fixture but on a better pitch on home turf, Roberts hopes the winning run can continue.

He added: “We go into it with a stronger team than last weekend and hopefully we can match them and tire them out.

“We nearly won at their place – by the end they were flagging a little so we will look to go one better at home.”