BOLTON ground out a hard-fought 6-0 victory at home to Vale of Lune to boost their chances of remaining in the North One West division.

A match that was nearly called off due to a snow-covered pitch was settled by two penalties from Bolton kicker Mark Doherty.

The Cherry and Whites have now won four of their last six games while their opponents have lost six on the bounce.

Bolton's valuable win leaves them 11th – fourth bottom – in the table, seven points ahead of 12th-placed Eccles and two points behind Carlisle a place above.

Chairman Jon-Paul Hardman feels getting back to winning ways at home is key.

“We knew going into the game we stood a good chance,” he said.

“The Avenue used to be a fortress but this season obviously it hasn’t been the same.

“We’ve got a few wins on the bounce now and hopefully we can get it back to how it used to be.”

Despite the struggles this season Hardman believes the team has never doubted they could get themselves out of trouble.

“We never lost confidence as a team; we knew what we were capable of because of what we have done in the past.

“It has taken time but the results now are starting to show.

“There is still a long way to go and there will still be a lot of twists and turns in this league.

“The teams around us are capable of picking up points and going on runs, like Eccles have shown, so we’re not getting ahead of ourselves yet.”

The away team came out of the blocks quickest on Saturday, switching the ball from wing to wing with the back line looking dangerous.

Bolton defended well and grew in confidence as the game progressed with captain Ashley Cooper and fly half Mike Mills producing some important tackles for their team.

In the 20th minute Bolton were dealt a blow when Gaz and Rhys Pritchard were forced off with injuries, meaning Spencer Pettit coming on in the back line and Tony McLaughlin joining the second row.

After missing a penalty earlier on Doherty gave the Cherry and Whites the lead with his second penalty attempt just after half time when Nick Smith produced a surging run.

Bolton were dealt another blow when replacement McLaughlin had to go off with an injured knee.

After gaining the lead, the home team stayed on top and were rewarded for their pressure when they were awarded a third penalty of the day after James Brodie had broken away through the middle.

With the confidence of his earlier success, Doherty again scored, giving Bolton a six-point advantage to hold on to.

They could have added to their lead not long after when Doherty had another penalty but he could not make it three in a row.