Coalville Town 1-4 Lancaster City: Dolly Blues back to winning ways in style

Lancaster City got back to winning ways in style at Coalville Town on Saturday.
Ricky Mercer scored twice for Lancaster City in their win at Coalville Town.Ricky Mercer scored twice for Lancaster City in their win at Coalville Town.
Ricky Mercer scored twice for Lancaster City in their win at Coalville Town.

Three second-half goals handed Phil Brown’s side a 4-1 win as they ended a run of three straight defeats at the Owen Street Sports Ground.

Tom Kilifin gave the Dolly Blues the lead before Kyle Dixon levelled things up for the hosts shortly before half-time.

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Two goals in eight minutes early in the second half turned the game in City’s favour however with first Hannu Tam and then skipper Ricky Mercer on target.

The central defender’s second late on then made sure of three points that moved Lancaster up to 11th in the Evo-Stik Premier Division.

“Today was a marked contrast to previous performances” Brown said.

“The players were brave in possession and resilient out of it.

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“They have shown a real togetherness with that performance and should be pleased with themselves.

“I asked them to show everyone how angry and frustrated they were with recent results by channelling it into a positive performance, they did that and more.

“Any win is hard-earned but to win 4-1 away shows great character and it’s an excellent win.”

Striker Kilifin got the Dollies up and running 20 minutes in with a close-range finish after home ‘keeper Matthew Coton failed to deal with the initial cross.

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Dixon equalised seven minutes before the break when he completed a flowing move with a finish beyond debutant ‘keeper Elliot Wynne, a recent arrival on a dual registration from AFC Fylde.

The second half was all Lancaster’s though as they impressively pulled clear.

Two minutes after the interval Tam restored City’s lead, breaking the offside trap and rounding the ‘keeper to score.

Mercer’s first of an unlikely double came on 55 minutes, as he headed home an in-swinging Ryan Winder corner.

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Coalville looked for a way back into the game but the victory was complete 11 minutes from time when Winder and Mercer combined again, the skipper heading home the midfielder’s free-kick from deep.

Lancaster are next in action in the second round of the League Cup at Warrington Town on Tuesday night before welcoming Rushall Olympic to Giant Axe on Saturday when they return to league action.