VAUXHALL Motors face a make or break week in their battle to avoid the drop.
Andy Mutch’s men make away trips to two of their relegation rivals – basement club Leigh RMI on Saturday and third-from-bottom Hinckley United on Monday.
Motors will give themselves a fighting chance of staying in the Blue Square North if they win both games. Five points separate them from Leigh and, if results go their way over the weekend, the best Motors can hope for is to be out of the relegation zone by a clear two points come Tuesday morning.
Vauxhall go into the vital double-header on the back of a 3-0 loss at Gainsborough Trinity on Saturday.
Missing three of their regular back four, they slid to a fourth successive defeat on a heavy Northolme pitch.
After a very scrappy start, Motors keeper Lloyd Rigby tipped over a well driven free kick from Trinity’s Lewis McMahon.
The hosts were then twice opened up by the trickery of Paul Taylor, but both of his excellent cross-field passes ended up with Tom Field being denied at the near post.
The deadlock was broken just two minutes after the restart when Richard Pell headed a corner back across goal and Alex Rodman was able to apply the telling touch.
Russell Hitchen felt he had stopped the ball crossing the line but the assistant referee gave it.
The goal opened things up for Trinity and three minutes later they doubled their advantage when Rodman was released into space and he drilled a right-foot shot beyond Rigby.
Midfielder Keith Smith then brought the very best out of home keeper Adam Sollitt, storming through the middle and striking from 20 yards out. But within minutes, any notion of a Motors comeback disappeared when Jonathan Egerton was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge in the middle of the field.
Trinity wrapped up the three points 11 minutes from time when McMahon scored a fine diving header from a right wing cross.
