TEN-man Little Lever suffered their third straight defeat to remain in the thick of the Premier Division relegation battle.

Second-bottom Lever had a mountain to climb at home to league leaders Mostonians when they went a goal behind then had a man sent off inside the first 15 minutes.

It proved too much as the Manchester men left the new artificial pitch at Little Lever High School – where they played due to the wet conditions which forced the games involving the other local clubs Old Boltonians, Howe Bridge Mills, Castle Hill and Horwich Victoria to be called off – with a 5-1 victory and a six-point cushion at the top.

It was a demoralising game for Little Lever who made it 2-1 with a goal from Andy Bingham just before half time only to concede a goal early in the second half they were convinced was offside.

“It was blatant, to be honest,” said manager Lee Buckley.

“The lad was well offside but stepped back then went forward. The only one who didn’t see it was the linesman unfortunately.

“It was one of those days, if it could go wrong it did.

“It’s the way our season’s going and we all had a chat in the pub after to sort out what’s going wrong.”

Before the last three defeats, the Mytham Road men had been unbeaten in four league games in which they accrued all six points they have gained this season.

“It’s difficult at the moment but we will push on and stay positive,” said Buckley. “We’ve got a must-win game coming up in a couple of weeks against Old Blackburnians and I’m still confident with the players we’ve got that we’ll climb out of it.”

Centre half and captain Mike Fay got his marching orders for a professional foul and although goalkeeper Alex Champman saved the resulting penalty, Mostonians went 2-0 ahead before Bingham cut inside from the left and fired in with his right foot.

The third goal was the killer and Mostonians gave the scoreline a flattering look with two more strikes.

“We got it back and started to play some good football in the second half,” added Buckley. “Our players worked hard and you couldn’t tell they had an extra man but it was an uphill struggle with 10 men for nearly the whole match.”

Mostonians have played three more games than nearest challengers Tottington United and five more than third-placed Old Boltonians who are seven points off the top.

Castle Hill are the team below Little Lever and they too are staying positive despite having no points due to a four-point deduction for an administrative issue.

Rob Rostron paid tribute to his two fellow joint managers Conrad Henry and Ronnie Brooks for keeping the club strong and positive during a difficult time on the pitch and off it.

Henry has been working alongside Rostron last season and this and Brooks joined them three months ago.

And Rostron believes the club is in good hands with them on board.

“We’ve all got our roles and it’s thanks to Conrad and Ronnie that the club is in a decent position to get out of the situation we are in.

“Conrad is heavily involved in organising events and working with the team and Ronnie has been at some good clubs and brings a lot of experience. He’s also bought some equipment which we’re grateful for.

“They’ve both been great and even though we’re bottom the last training session there was a good turnout and a really good feel about things.”