Lancaster City 1 Prescot Cables 0: Lewis Mansell ends long wait for home win

It had looked like being another frustrating night at Giant Axe until Lewis Mansell struck from Sam Bailey's cross with five minutes left.

The victory, which lifted the Dolly Blues to 11th in the Northern Premier League, was their first on home turf since Ilkeston Town were beaten 4-3 on November. Mansell scored in that game too, when Aaron Bennett was the hat-trick hero.

Saturday's 1-0 defeat by FC United of Manchester had stretched Lancaster's winless run at Giant Axe to seven games.

After a cagey start on Tuesday, Marcus Cusani forced Cables keeper Calvin Hare into the first save on 26 minutes. Hare was tested again by a low drive from man of the match Nathan Caine.

Lancaster's Dylan Moonan was forced off injured before half-time and replaced by Dylan Thompson.

The Dolly Blues were grateful to in-form keeper Aidan Dowling for two key saves after the interval to deny Jack Goodwin at full-stretch and Ben Elliott from close-range.

It looked like it wouldn’t be Mansell’s night as he placed one header on the roof of the net, then directed another straight at Hare shortly before scoring.

The clean sheet was also most welcome as Dowling maintained his fine form, having been the one player to earn praise from manager Chris Willcock on Saturday.

Willcock told the club's media team after the FC United defeat: “Only Aidan had a decent game. It's a shame he gave the penalty away (converted by Adam Le Fondre for the winner) but he kept us in the game up to that point.

“Every game he's been getting better and that's what happens when you get a run of games. Your confidence and consistency start to grow.”

Saturday was all the more disappointing for Willcock after the impressive 2-1 victory at Guiseley a week earlier. He added: “It's mind-blowing that we can't put back-to-back wins together on a consistent basis and that's been our Achilles heel.”

Backing up Tuesday's win will be no easy feat at third-placed Ashton United on Saturday.

At both the past week's home games, the club has paid its respects to midfielder Brayden Shaw’s sister Kia, holding collections for the family and for the Cure Leukaemia charity. Brayden plans to run the Paris Marathon in Kia’s memory in April.