PICTURE GALLERY: Pontefract Collieries reward big efforts of groundstaff with victory over Winterton Rangers

​The victory, courtesy of goals by Jack Steers, Jack Boyle and Danny Burns, lifted Colls back into the play-off places in the NPL East.

“The groundstaff worked miracles to get the game on and put so much time and effort in – and we are glad we could reward them with a result,” said manager Rouse.

"We are pleased with the result, perhaps not so much the performance, but that was dominated by the weather. On days like this it’s about digging in and getting a result and that’s exactly what we’ve done.

"It was nice to get a result and settle people down a little bit. We are still in the mix, we’ve probably got the youngest squad in the league and we are in the play-off positions with five games to go."

Ponte are now gearing up for their West Riding County Cup semi-final at home against Wakefield FC tomorrow night (Tuesday) then they travel to Brighouse Town on Saturday and host Sheffield next Tuesday.

"The groundstaff wll do what they can to get the cup game on,” added Rouse.

“It’s a big game, our first competitive game against our local rivals and we’ll enjoy it. It’s about us stamping our authority and our style on the match early.

"We are confident if we do that we’ll get a positive result and give our fans something to look forward to with a cup final in a competition we’ve never won.

"The aim is to create history and be the first team from this club to win the competition.”

Here’s a look at Scott Merrylees’ action shots from the game against Winterton Rangers: