‘They gave us everything’ - Danny Holmes lauds Gigg Lane display as Vauxhall Motors strengthen promotion hopes

Goals in either half from Nick Rushton and Kevin Ellison saw Motors end new Shakers boss Anthony Johnson’s winning start in charge.

In front of nearly 4,000 supporters, Holmes’ side more than rose to the occasion against a Bury side who missed the chance to move seven points clear at the top of the NPL West Division table on Saturday, after second-place Avro were beaten 2-1 at Stalybridge Celtic. 

Reflecting on his side's performance, Holmes said: “I thought we were unbelievable to be fair. 

“We had a game plan: they're unbelievable on the ball and they are where they are [in the table]. We had to respect that, but we knew we could hurt them from set-pieces, and we had two men who could hold the ball up front. I thought we could have done that better, to be honest. 

“The ball up to them was rushed, and sometimes we had space to carry and be brave, but we can't have asked for much more from the lads. They gave us everything.”

Victory keeps Motors in the hunt for automatic promotion, although they remain seven points behind leaders Bury with eight games to play. 

They still have to face two of the top three in Avro and Lower Breck, but Holmes says the collective willingness to do the right things is what will give Motors the best chance of earning a spot in Step 3.

He added: “We’ve got to where we are not through individuals, but because we’re a team, and we needed that today. 

“Their crowd gives them energy and we had to kill that, and I thought the lads managed the game really well. Coming here, teams can give them a bit too much respect at times. We didn't want to do that: we wanted to show what we were capable of, and we did that.

“It's all about the points [at this stage of the season]. It doesn’t matter how well you perform, as long as you get the result, but today we had both. 

“It keeps us right in the mix, and we need to keep concentrating on ourselves and take it game by game. 

“My full focus is on the next one. I may sound like a broken record, but that’s all I do. Hopefully the lads can perform and give us everything, like they always do.”