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It was very much a case of ‘cometh the hour, cometh the man’ as Adam Rooney’s late goal ensured Brackley Town’s terrific form under Roger Johnson continued last weekend.

It looked like the Saints were going to have to settle for a goalless draw with Curzon Ashton at St James Park.

But, in the third minute of stoppage-time, Rooney headed home a Shepherd Murombedzi free-kick for his second goal since joining Brackley.

The 1-0 win, the Saints’ sixth in nine games since Johnson took charge, sent them back to the top of the Vanarama National League North and extended their unbeaten run to 10 matches.

Adam Rooney shows his delight after scoring Brackley Town's dramatic stoppage-time winner against Curzon Ashton last weekend. Picture by Josh Nesden

They are two points clear of second-placed King’s Lynn Town, who drew 1-1 at Southport on Tuesday night but still have two games in hand.

Johnson paid tribute to matchwinner Rooney and praised the character of his players as they managed to secure another success, despite not being at their best.

“I don’t want to put a negative on it, the lads know the performance level wasn’t there,” Johnson said.

“But when you come out and play badly but get a win out of it then it’s a huge positive and it shows you the character of the team.

“It didn’t go our way in terms of performance but they stuck in there and got the job done.

“Adam has done a good shift over the past few weeks, which goes unnoticed sometimes.

“He’s been a massive part of the success and does a lot of work for the team.

“He’s a proven goalscorer and it was one chance, one goal. He’s a massive asset to our team.

“I’m over the moon with the way things have gone. It’s nine games and six wins and three draws so it couldn’t have gone much better.

“There’s so much football left to play and we can only do what’s put in front of us and that’s what we’re doing.”

The next thing in front of Brackley is a trip to National League South side Braintree Town as they get their Isuzu FA Trophy campaign under way in the second round proper.

And while Johnson insists the message to his players will be to keep the good run going, he looks set to make some changes to his side after a gruelling run of games in recent weeks.

“We’re going into every game looking for a positive result,” he added.

“Yes, there will be changes and we will give the boys who haven’t been playing some good minutes to give me a chance to see them in a game situation.

“We’ve got two tough away games coming up in Braintree and then Blyth the following week.

“But we will be looking to win the game and keep the run going and that’s the message that will be sent.”

Rooney’s late show keeps Brackley on top as focus switches to the Trophy