SEDGLEY Park completed a clean sweep of victories in January with a fourth successive victory at Macclesfield on Saturday.

The 28-18 triumph on the road maintained the Tigers’ challenge at the top of National Two North as they moved to just a point behind second-placed Hinckley and five off leaders Sale FC.

And it was a result that naturally pleased general manager Geoff Roberts after a month to savour.

Roberts told the Bury Times: “That is a clean sweep of wins for us in January and we have got 19 points out of a possible 20 which is incredible.

“If you had told me that would happen at the turn of the year I would have snapped your hand off.

“It was not easy on Saturday at Macclesfield – it was a ridiculously heavy pitch and they have a big forward pack.

“They had won the last four but we knew if we could weather the early storm in the first half hour or so then we could kick on and that is exactly what we did.

“I cannot praise the lads enough for how they have played since the start of the year.

“We have had some tough matches and come through them all and it remains really tight at the top.

“We may have what look like more straightforward matches coming up but we need to stay focused and avoid any banana skins.

“We are playing with confidence at the minute, though, and defending really well.

“I definitely think we are coping with the bad weather and injuries better than in previous years as well.

“We lost Stevie Collins at the weekend after he damaged his hamstring in training last Thursday and Rob Holloway stepped in.

“Then he started feeling his groin so Oli Glasse went in at number 10 and he did well.

“So we have a good group that deserve their success at the minute.”

As Roberts predicted, it was a strong start by Macclesfield’s forward pack on home soil as two unconverted tries gave them a 10-0 lead after 20 minutes.

However, Sedgley responded with 21 unanswered points through tries from Matt Riley, Andy Riley, Bob Birtwell and three Matt Riley conversions.

A penalty try later completed their scoring as they recorded a sixth away league win of the season.

Roberts said: “It was always going to be a slog for the first part of the game as they threw everything at us in the scrum to win penalties but we defended really well and the tables started turning before half time.

“Our best try saw Andy Riley run from inside our territory to halfway and pass to winger Jamie Harrison and his pace took him clear before he returned the favour and Andy scored what was a try of sheer class that put us in a comfortable position.

“They had a period of possession in the second half but we deserved the win.

“Now we get ready to face Otley and it should be a tight game.

“I always enjoy our games against them as they are a great club with a good group of players.

“Our form is good but we cannot take things for granted at all.

“We are in a good position and want to stay up there to keep the pressure on at the top.”