Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley’s side kicked off the new year with a vital 3-0 win over Farsley Celtic, moving them one step closer to leapfrogging their opponents out of the relegation zone thanks to first-half goals from Brad Jackson and Matt Sargent, with the icing on the cake from Jordan Hulme after the interval.

The management duo named an unchanged starting eleven following the half-time abandonment in our Boxing Day fixture against Chorley, allowing the players to pick up where they left off after a positive 45 minutes six days prior.

It only took the Boro 15 minutes to unlock the Farsley defence and open the scoring after a dominant start to the game. Hulme’s shot was parried into a dangerous area by Kieran Flavell and Jackson took full advantage by being perfectly placed to thump home off the underside of the crossbar.

Just before the half-hour mark, Radcliffe were in dreamland as Matt Sargent gave the hosts a two-goal cushion to firmly assert their dominance on the fixture. Jackson was involved once again, this time turning provider for the Welsh midfielder to arrive right on time and head beyond Flavell from his dinked cross.

Moments later, Danny Greenfield had the opportunity to dispatch against his former side but he couldn’t keep his shot down after Tom Walker’s corner was palmed into the path of the 24 year-old.

Farsley struggled to gain any real chances to cut the deficit to one before the break as Radcliffe dominated the ball attempting to apply further blows to Pav Singh’s side, but were unable to do so with the scoreline in the hosts’ favour going into half-time.

After the restart, the Boro started the second-half proceedings as they began the first with a large amount of possession looking to extend their lead, but early opportunities for Jackson, Greenfield and Hulme all weren’t accurate enough to put Radcliffe three goals to the good.

However, our number nine wouldn’t be denied with his second shot of the half, dispatching his sixth goal of the campaign. Brad Roscoe threaded the ball through the Farsley defence for Hulme to slide into the bottom right corner of the net, before celebrating joyously with his teammates after 65 minutes.

All five Radcliffe substitutes were introduced to the action in order to tighten the defence and add new energy to the midfield and attack, and they did just that by limiting Farsley to very little across the field.

With five minutes of time added on by the fourth official, there were still opportunities for both teams to change the scoreline. Luca Navarro saw his curling effort tipped behind with an outstanding save from Flavell, before Mateusz Hewelt kept his clean sheet intact with a double stop to deny Aiden Walker and Dylan Youmbi in quick succession.

The game was concluded by the referee shortly after, wrapping up the perfect start to 2025 for Radcliffe at the Neuven Stadium.

We now turn our attention to Isuzu FA Trophy action as we visit the Laithwaite Community Stadium to lock horns with Woking this weekend – buy your tickets for only £5 here!