Clitheroe held on for a 2-1 win away at Lichfield City on Saturday in NPL West - a result built on a dominant first-half display that resulted in two goals before a great defensive effort saw the game out.
The first chance of the game fell to Clitheroe early, with Harry Scarborough played in through a good ball over the top, but he couldn't quite get the ball under control.
Another chance followed soon after, Max Harrison making a good run before cutting inside and setting Freddie Machell up for a cross on the edge of the box.
Nathan Sandison then came close after a good move by Demi Rhami saw him drive past a couple of players, before Sandison took a shot from just outside the box.
Clitheroe had a number of efforts in quick succession from there, with Rhami and Harry Scarborough both going close.
This was a very positive first-half showing from Clitheroe, an improvement from Tuesday, giving a lot of hope for the rest of this game.
Clitheroe were forced into making an early change, with the injured Jason Gilchrist replaced by Touray, nothing too serious but a necessary precaution given the packed schedule.
This had an impact straight away as Rhami did well to play Touray in through the middle, who laid it off for Scarborough, but it was deflected out for a corner.
An excellent ball from Maine Walder found Danny Wilkins, who touched it past his man and drove towards goal, only for his attempt to be smothered by the goalkeeper.
Not long later, Max Harrison crossed to the back post, but no Clitheroe player was there and the Lichfield defender headed it clear.
The resulting bounce fell to the edge of the box and set up Wilkins for a volley, and this time he made no mistake, to give Clitheroe the lead.
Just before half time Clitheroe would double their lead, as Touray was falling to the floor, yet still managed to get a shot away that looked to be flying wide, only for it to hit Scarborough in the middle of the box and deflect over the goalkeeper's head.
The striker didn't seem to know much about it as it hit him, and ran off in muted celebrations as the Blues would go into half time leading by two goals.
Clitheroe continued this dominance into the second half, with Machell and Wilkins both excellent and taking full control of the game in midfield.
Trying to get back into this game, Lichfield made substitutions.
It was an almost immediate impact from these changes as after a good move of their own, the hosts pulled one back.
In a moment of frustration, Wilkins was shown a yellow card after being blatantly slapped in the face by Lichfield's Tom Brown, but instead was booked for pushing him in retaliation.
Clitheroe continued to look the stronger side and managed to create chances, though they couldn't quite find a way through the Lichfield defence again.
It was a really strong away win for Clitheroe, through an excellent attacking display in the first half and a great defensive effort in the late stages to see the result over the line.
Share