Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley’s men recorded their first-ever win in the National League North after a resilient defensive display was awarded when Tunde Owolabi flicked home in the 73rd minute to take all three points back to Greater Manchester at St James Park.

One change was made to the team that came up narrowly short at home against Warrington Town, as Josh Hancock made his long-awaited return to the eleven in place of Jordan Hulme, who was suspended for the fixture after a red card last time out.

Brackley started the afternoon’s action the better of the two sides with the majority of possession and a small amount of half chances in the opening 10 minutes, Scott Pollock’s crosses into the box tested the Boro back line from both open play and dead ball situations, but the scores remained even with a quarter of an hour on the clock.

Tunde Owolabi fashioned Radcliffe’s first chance to open the scoring as the forward was sent through via Matt Sargent’s well-weighted through ball after 23 minutes, but Owolabi’s low strike was pushed away by Jonny Maxted who was equal to the effort.

A header nodded inches over the bar by Anthony Dudley was a gilt-edged opportunity that Radcliffe failed to take advantage of, as the 28-year-old rose highest to meet Brad Jackson’s whipped delivery with half an hour gone.

Shouts for a penalty to the visitors were waved away by the referee on the 31-minute mark, Brad Jackson entered a good position to try and gain a foothold in the game but was brought to the ground by Gareth Dean before being able to pull the trigger, as the ball bounced out for a goal kick whilst the referee denied the Boro’s claims.

Brackley’s best opportunity before the break came after 44 minutes, which Mateusz Hewelt had to be alert to to ensure his side headed into the break on level terms. Morgan Roberts opened up a pocket of space inside the box to flash an attempt across our number one, but the shot-stopper was quickly across to parry the ball away to his left-hand side.

Determined to break the deadlock after the restart, Brackley began the second 45 as they began the first with a spring in their step going into the final third, but Radcliffe remained resolute in their defending to evade the oncoming attacks.

As the minutes ticked on, the Boro grew into the game with forward momentum of their own. A pass across the face of goal by Jackson before Sargent struck on the half-volley 20 yards out from goal were two opportunities that the hosts had to stay switched on for after 60 minutes, but the scoreline remained level.

Only moments after Dudley blazed over the bar from close range with a powerful volley, Radcliffe found themselves ahead with an all-important opener with 73 minutes on the clock.

A free-flowing attack down the left channel led to Sargent swinging an inviting ball into the box for Owolabi to flick an inch-perfect header into the bottom right corner, before sprinting towards the corner flag in celebration as the away faithful erupted.

The visitors continued to pile the pressure onto Brackley in search of a two-goal cushion, a succession of corners were won but no blue shirt could apply the killer touch to put the three points firmly in their grasp.

Brackley had very little to answer for after falling behind and had hardly tested Hewelt in the Radcliffe goal, despite coming forward on a number of occasions in the dying embers of the game.

New energy was introduced across the pitch with all five Boro substitutions made in the final 10 minutes, which helped to see out the game with a favourable scoreline, and record a monumental first-ever National League North victory.

It’s a quick turnaround for Bernard and Jonno’s side as we travel to South Shields on Tuesday night for matchday 12 of our 2024/25 league campaign.