CONGLETON Town bounced back from a string of five heavy defeats with two morale-boosting wins in the space of three days.

The Bears began their revival with an excellent 2-1 home victory over Farsley Celtic in the league on Saturday.

They followed that up with a 2-1 away success at Winsford United in the League Challenge Cup on Tuesday night.

The win over Farsley ended five defeats in a row, and was a vital match for both sides, Farsley being one place above the Bears near the foot of the table before the game.

The victory at Winsford earned Congleton a place in the second group stage of the cup as one of the nine best runners-up from the first group matches.

Congleton took the lead on Tuesday night on the half hour when Graham Dodd played the ball through to Rod Thornley, who beat a defender and drew the keeper before firing home.

The Bears went further ahead on 64 minutes when Thornley put Chris Bermingham through to score.

Congleton had to endure a tense final few minutes after Winsford pulled one back following a scramble in their box.

A Winsford player headed against the bar, and the same player stabbed a foot out to score from the rebound.

Congleton's hopes of their first win in six didn't look too bright when Farsley took the lead after only six minutes, a player scoring with a low shot from eight yards.

However the Bears fought back to equalise four minutes later when Thornley beat the offside trap and fired home from 18 yards.

Congleton scored the winner with 20 minutes left off a free kick, which Bermingham curled superbly into the top corner from 30 yards out.

The Bears also had keeper Micky Allison to thank for a series of top class saved, in particular a one-handed stop in the first half.

''There was a great sense of relief after the win against Farsley, because our confidence was low after five defeats,'' said Congleton secretary Dave Wilcock.

''However everyone is upbeat now, especially after Tuesday night's victory.''

Congleton have signed midfielder Steve Callear from Leek CSOB, and Darren Washington and Spencer Maloney have rejoined the club.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.