OLIVER Manoochehri bagged a brace as Gornal Athletic kept their slim survival hopes alive with victory over fifth-placed Malvern Town.

The Peacocks claimed a brilliant 2-0 win at Garden Walk last Saturday to the delight of manager Matt Fisher.

He said: "I had a feeling before the game that we could get the win. The atmosphere was really good in the squad, we trained well and the preparation was spot on.

"We had a game plan, stuck to it and did really well against a very good side.

"We outplayed them, had a couple of chances to score even more goals and they didn't have a single shots on target all game."

The manager admits that the scouts are now circling for star attacker Manoochehri and a couple of other promising players but is taking it as a compliment for the work going on at Garden Walk.

He added: "I know there is interest from clubs higher up and I would never dream of standing in a player's way if a good opportunity came along.

"You don't want to lose your players but at least it's a sign that we are doing things right here."

Gornal now face second-from-bottom side Wellington Amateurs away this Saturday (3pm kick-off) before third-from-bottom outfit Dudley Sports visit a week later.

Fisher is not ruling out a late bid for survival despite them sitting 13 points from their nearest rival.

He said: "I still want to be in with a shout of staying up right up until the very last game of the season, even though that is nigh on impossible.

"If we were to build on the Malvern win and win the next two then people really would start taking note.

"The club has a better infrastructure than most clubs above us and I just hope we can have the chance to play at this level again next season because the players really deserve that."