City slump on long Good Friday (From Lancaster And Morecambe Citizen)

City slump on long Good Friday

5:26pm Friday 21st March 2008

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Lancaster City 0 Clitheroe 1

Lancaster City sunk to new depths on a torturously long Good Friday as they were beaten at Giant Axe by Clitheroe.

The Dolly Blues were quite simply awful as they turned in an abject display against a side nearly as bad on an afternoon of snow, sunshine and a biting wind.

That wind played a big part during the first period of a dreadful game as City tried to kick into the face of the gale.

And that wind may just have had an influence in the game's only goal as Anthony Johnson crashed home a spectacular 25-yarder to give Mark Thornley no chance.

But as well struck as that goal was, City were the masters of their own downfall as they lost the ball on the edge of the Clitheroe penalty area and allowed the East Lancashire side to sweep downfield to set-up Johnson's strike.

Dave Swarbrick was a danger on the odd occasion that Lancaster broke - but even he was wasteful as he saw keeper James Mann make a meal of a routine save when there were four blue shirts against two Clitheroe men in the penalty area.

And Swarbrick crossed well before the break but no City man could get on the end of the cross and the chance disappeared.

The wind dropped at the break - and that seemed to knock the wind even more out of City's sails.

Although the course of the game could have changed when referee Darren Handley chose only to produce a yellow card when Ian Flannery tripped Dave Foster as the striker broke.

Handley wasn't going to give a free-kick until his assistant Nathan Cox flagged - and then the only decision should have been a red card.

Michael Stringfellow tried his luck from 30 yards - but the closest City came to an undeserved leveller was in the sixth minute of five minutes added time when Neil Uberschar shot straight at Mann from 20 yards.

Lancaster City: Thornley 6, Rigby 5, Greenwood 6, Swan 6, Redhead 5 (Heffernan 75), Rushton 5 (Helliwell 60), Stringfellow 6, Uberschar 6, Marshall 6, Foster 5 (Jackson 70), Swarbrick 6
Referee: Darren Handley

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