CLITHEROE boss Neil Reynolds revealed that his side's FA Trophy troubles inspired the Blues to a sensational victory over promotion-favourites FC United at Shawbridge.

The Blues delivered a terrific performance in front 1,245 spectators and, in the meantime, registered their first back-to-back wins in UniBond Division One (North).

The breakthrough came on the stroke of half-time with Joel Byrom's strike, while Paul Fildes netted Clitheroe's second on the hour-mark, with Jamie Baguley reducing the deficit for United.

Clitheroe went into the match unsure of their FA Trophy future, after last week being thrown out of the competition for allegedly fielding an ineligible player.

The club appealed against the decision and face an FA disciplinary hearing tomorrow morning to find out their fate.

But Blues boss Reynolds admits the controversy surrounding the FA Trophy fired his players up for Saturday's showdown with FC United.

"After the week we've had, the chips were really down for us," said Reynolds. "There's a great group of lads here and they were eager to bounce back.

"It's been a real tough week for us with what happened in the FA Trophy.

"In training, all the lads have been talking about it and they want to still be involved in the competition.

"It really fired them up and, against FC United, that's one of the best performances we've turned it for a long time. We were really up for it.

"United are near the top of the league, but they couldn't touch us. We won 2-1, but it could have been four or five."

Reynolds added: "We are getting better and better. That's just three defeats in our last 12 games.

"But what really impressed me is that we've now picked up back-to-back league wins."