OA’s captain Billy Johnson praised his side for not underestimating National League One’s bottom club Macclesfield in their ruthless win on Saturday.

The Blues have won just twice all season but complacency never took hold in Johnson’s teammates as they ran out comfortable 50-26 winners over the Cheshire club.

“We never underestimated them or took the win for granted before the game,” said Johnson.

“They aren’t an easy team to play against, so to put 50 points on the board shows just how well we performed today.”

OAs raced out of the blocks with a pulsating first half performance that effectively secured the win after 40 minutes and their attitude was key in securing this triumph.

“The spirit is great right now especially as it’s such a tough time due to our league position, so to win today is great for our morale,” Johnson admitted.

“Everyone was really up for it and raring to go before the game. It’s always difficult to maintain that pressure when you are 20-30 points in the lead.

“There are definitely areas to work on as we were sloppy in attack at times and scrappy in defence but in the grand scheme of things we are very happy.”

Johnson and head coach Andy Holloway said they were disappointed to concede four tries but concurred that from start to finish they played a more complete game.

“Before the match it was about being direct, doing the basics, taking them on up front and worry about scoring tries after that and that is encouraging,” said Johnson.

Saturday’s convincing victory was OA’s eighth home win of the campaign and this may be the key to survival with two more home games against Hartpury College and Tynedale as the season draws to a close.