Lancaster City display pleases boss Chris Willcock despite defeat to Gainsborough

Willcock praised their response to the 3-0 defeat at Whitby Town a fortnight earlier, though last weekend’s 2-1 loss means the Dolly Blues have taken one point from their last three league games.

Lewis Mansell cancelled out Lewis Butroid's opener to send Lancaster into half-time level, but Declan Howe netted the Gainsborough winner early in the second half.

The Lincolnshire side are now two points behind ninth-placed Lancaster but have played five fewer games.

But Willcock was far from downhearted and told the club's media team: “I was really disappointed to be only 1-1 at half-time. I thought we were causing all sorts of problems, They changed shape to match us up because of how dominant we were.

“I'm more than happy with the performance. If we'd performed like that at Whitby, we certainly wouldn't have got beat 3-0.

“Everyone will see it as back-to-back defeats but we've had a decent response. We didn't lie down, we've kept going, shown good quality and matched a team we know is very good.”

Willcock was critical of the two goals his side conceded as they prepare for Saturday's final home game of the year against Workington, one of his former clubs.

For added spice, the Cumbrians are now managed by Mark Fell, who Willcock replaced as Lancaster boss.

“Once again we've just come up short and we need to learn from that,” Willcock added. “We've had two moments of concentration.

"I'm not happy with the two goals we conceded – one or two big mistakes in there.

"I thought we controlled the first half very well for large periods but a soft goal allowed them to be 1-1 at half-time.

“I felt we were still in the changing room in the first 15 minutes of the second half and allowed them to get back in it.”

The Dolly Blues are looking to recruit a network of volunteer scouts to watch matches in their local area and compile reports for the cub.

They hope to attract scouts across the North West, North East and Midlands.