Same old story as out-of-form Taddy lose again

Tom Corner put Albion ahead in stoppage time at the end of the first half, but the celebrations were short-lived as the visitors replied a matter of seconds later through Ryan Winder.

Jacob Gregory’s strike six minutes into the second period then turned out to be decisive as the Brewers slipped to their fourth defeat in their last five games.

Boss Billy Miller made two changes to the side that lost to Clitheroe as Adam Baker and Josh Barrett came back into the starting line-up.

And after an even opening to the contest, Taddy should have taken the lead inside half an hour as they carved Lancaster open at the back.

The ball went from back to front in five touches as Leon Wrigglesworth’s goal kick was flicked on by Carl Stewart and driven across the face of goal by Corner, but Baker strangely went with his right foot and flicked wide of the mark from eight yards with the net gaping.

Missed opportunities have proved costly for Miller’s side in recent weeks and the trend began to repeat itself once more as Stewart beat the onrushing Michael Hale to the ball but just couldn’t slide it past the City custodian.

However, Taddy did eventually take the lead in the 45th minute when Rob Youhill drove down the right-hand side and curled in a perfect cross for Corner who emphatically guided the ball past Hale.

With the interval just moments away, Albion should have taken their lead into half-time, but that wasn’t to be as Lancaster got back on terms immediately.

Craig Carney marauded past Josh Grant and Andy Milne before pulling back to Winder who made no mistake sliding home from close range.

The visitors may have taken the impetus into the break but it didn’t seem to have an immediate effect as Taddy began the second period on top.

Corner rose like a salmon to flick on target and past Hale, but Ricky Mercer kept the scores level by hooking the ball off the line.

Stewart’s free-kick was then unconvincingly parried by Hale, but the visiting gloveman recovered well to deny Baker a simple tap-in.

The costliness of the aforementioned profligacy was immediately highlighted as Lancaster snatched the lead against the run of play.

Gregory drove across the edge of the penalty area before rifling into the bottom left hand corner, leaving Wrigglesworth with no chance.

This goal certainly gave the Dolly Blues a new lease of life as Louis Mayers’ header was cleared off the line by Barrett before Wrigglesworth made a super double stop to deny Gregory a second.

Taddy continued to look dangerous going forward, and with 11 minutes to go, Hale was finally beaten by Stewart’s cheeky clipped effort, but the ball kissed the underside of the crossbar and ran to safety.

The last big chance for Albion came in the second minute of injury time as substitute Conor Sellars found Stewart who opted to shoot instead of rolling in Josh Greening, but again, he couldn’t find a way past Hale.