Avro manager Alex Frost singled out Liam Ellis and Michael Afuye for special praise after the duo played starring roles in his side’s 2-0 win at Barnoldswick Town on Saturday night, writes Liam Bambridge.

Ellis scored twice in the second half to secure the three points, while Afuye’s pace and trickery were a constant menace to the home defence as he made light of a heavy pitch which cut up badly as the game progressed.

“Liam Ellis had a really good night, and I am over the moon for him,” was Frost’s reaction to the former Mossley striker’s match-winning performance. “He’s had a tough few weeks, we’re asking him to do more off the ball in that wide position and he will probably be honest and say he’s found it difficult.”

“However, last night we saw the Liam Ellis of old, he played with a smile on his face and not many defences in this league or the ones in the league above who can live with him when he plays like that.”

And Frost was equally impressed with Afuye’s contribution.

“Mike was fantastic again and he’s getting better every week, largely due to his fitness levels improving,” he said. “Many people forget how young Mike is and how new he is to non league football. There is so much more to come from him and the whole club is really excited to see what he can achieve.”

This was Avro’s first ever visit to the Silentnight Stadium, with the unusual kick off time reflecting the need to accommodate a large number of neutral fans taking part in the North West Counties League Groundhop.

The visiting supporters who travelled north free of charge on the Avro team bus saw their side almost take the lead twice in the opening stages, as Louis Potts headed just wide before his fierce shot flew just wide of home keeper Jordan Gidley’s left hand post.

Barnoldswick came into the game sitting uncomfortably close to the relegation zone, but despite this perilous position, they have not struggled to score goals on their own patch. However, they created little of note throughout the entire ninety minutes, and Frost was delighted with his back four’s response to the challenge.

This defensive resilience and two excellent saves from Gidley to deny Potts and Afuye were enough to ensure that the game remained goalless at the break. However six minutes after the restart, Ellis made no mistake from the penalty spot to take his tally for the season to sixteen goals, and ten minutes later he broke clear and finished coolly to double his side’s lead.

Next up for Avro is a top of the table clash tonight at Charnock Richard, and Frost is under no illusions as to the size of the task which awaits his side.

“No disrespect to Barnoldswick, but Charnock pose a completely different threat,” added Frost. “They’re the top scorers in the league by some way and deserve to be where they are in the table.

"We will need to be at our best as is the case every week in this league; however I have every confidence that our best is good enough to cause them some problems."