Huntingdon Town boosted their United Counties League survival hopes with a crucial home success last Saturday.

Chris Down claimed the only goal in the first half of a 1-0 triumph against Lutterworth Athletic at Jubilee Park as Jimmy Brattan’s second-bottom side moved to within two points of safety with three games to go.

Down struck on the half-hour but a host of other Huntingdon chances went begging, with Adam Richardson and Ben Keating both off-target from good positions.

Brattan also felt his side should have been playing against 10 men with an Athletic defender escaping without punishment for a foul on Corey Kingston when in a clear goalscoring position.

Down then missed two excellent chances to increase the advantage in the second period while a Richardson effort skimmed a post and Kingston was denied in a one-on-one situation.

But one goal proved to be enough, with Town keeper Quincy Shorunmu able to celebrate only a second clean sheet of a difficult season.

“A 5-0 or 6-0 win wouldn’t have flattered us, but it’s all the about three points and we managed to get them,” said Brattan.

“The fact the win came complete with our first clean sheet for a long time was a huge bonus.

“We played well and created lots of chances, and we can take real encouragement from this performance and result.

“Right from the minute the lads arrived, they were absolutely focused. We took the game to Lutterworth from the off and maintained our standards throughout the 90 minutes.”

Town now head to Leicester side Birstall United this Saturday before hosting Stamford outfit Blackstones at Jubilee Park on Easter Monday.

Relegation rivals Raunds drew 1-1 against Blackstones last Saturday.

“We’re going out to win football matches,” added Brattan. “We’re not in a position where we can sit back and be cautious.

“Draws won’t do us any good in our position. We need to pick up more wins like we did against Lutterworth.”

Brattan goes under the surgeon’s knife on Tuesday and assistant Alex Cook is away so reserve-team chief Clive Hiscock could be required to step in to take Town for their Easter fixtures.