Skegness Town bounced back from last week’s disappointment against Kimberley Miners Welfare with a hard-fought victory at Maltby Main to progress to the next round of the UCL Cup.

The Seasiders travelled to a difficult venue knowing that a win was required to keep their cup campaign alive. Conditions were far from ideal, with poor weather making life difficult on a pitch with a considerable slope.

McCauley Parker and Luke Rayner-Mistry were absent once again, while Conor Marshall was also unavailable. Joshua Morrall returned to the starting XI in place of Kyle Radford.

There were also full debuts for Toby Cotton and new forward Theo Kitt-Bushell, with manager Gary King opting to ring the changes. Radford and Declan Johnson took places on the bench, alongside assistant manager Nick Jackson and new signing Harley Thompson, who joined the club from Immingham Town.

First half

Despite the difficult conditions and challenging surface, it was Skegness who controlled much of the opening 45 minutes.

The Lilywhites looked a constant threat, with good attacking play on both wings and several opportunities to break the deadlock. Maltby goalkeeper was also called upon to make an excellent save to keep the hosts in the game.

Skegness came particularly close when Kitt-Bushell saw a good effort well saved by the Maltby goalkeeper. The rebound fell kindly to Jordan Nuttell just two yards from goal, but remarkably, the keeper recovered quickly to deny Nuttell and keep the score level.

Joshua Morrall also went close, with his effort striking the post as Skegness continued to press.

In truth, the Lilywhites had three or four good opportunities to take the lead before the interval, but were unable to capitalise on them and went into half-time with the scores level.

Second half

With Skegness now playing down the considerable slope, there was an expectation that the change of ends might work in the Lilywhites' favour.

Instead, it was Maltby Main who enjoyed the better of the opening 20 minutes of the second half.

Some of the Skegness players appeared to be beginning to run out of steam, particularly those who had seen limited playing time recently, and the Lilywhites found themselves under increasing pressure.

Bailey Forth and Kieran Wressell were called upon to stand firm, with both resolute under pressure and receiving valuable assistance from full-backs Morrall and Ward.

Maltby managed to fashion two or three good shooting opportunities during this spell, but Sykes was equal to the challenge, producing excellent saves to keep the scores level.

King decided it was time to make changes, with Harley Thompson introduced for Lucas Dakin on 57 minutes. The new signing is known for his pace, and the manager was hoping that his introduction could inject some fresh energy and allow Skegness to regain their attacking momentum.

Declan Johnson replaced Kitt-Bushell on 66 minutes, before the final change came seven minutes later when Kyle Radford replaced Jordan Nuttell.

With the front three now refreshed, the changes appeared to have the desired effect.

Skegness began to regain control of the contest, with renewed strength and power allowing the Lilywhites to drive forward and establish themselves in the attacking third.

And just three minutes after Radford's introduction, the breakthrough finally arrived.

A Skegness corner was delivered into the Maltby penalty area and, as the ball fell to Radford on the edge of the box, the substitute made no mistake, volleying the ball home to give the Lilywhites a deserved lead.

There was further drama when Declan Johnson appeared to have doubled the advantage, finding the back of the net, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.

That mattered little in the end, however, as Skegness remained composed during the closing stages and saw the game out comfortably.

After a frustrating second half in which Maltby had threatened to turn the momentum in their favour, the Lilywhites showed good character to weather the pressure, make the necessary changes and find a way to win.

The result sees Skegness Town progress to the next round of the UCL Cup and, importantly, provides the perfect response to last week's defeat to Kimberley Miners Welfare.

Team: Jake Sykes, Matt Ward, Joshua Morrall, Matt Clarke, Bailey Forth, Kieran Wressell, Lucas Dakin (57' Harley Thompson), Liam Adams, Jordan Nuttell (73' Kyle Radford), Toby Cotton, Theo Kitt-Bushell (66' Declan Johnson).

Unused Subs: Jamie Robinson, Nick Jackson