Lancaster City move up to sixth as they beat Basford United

Lancaster City battled hard to get the three points in a 1-0 win at home to Basford United.

Charlie Bailey got the first and only goal on Saturday afternoon at The Giant Axe.

A string of fantastic saves by Tom Stewart on his home debut for Lancaster and some great defensive work from the Dolly Blues’ backline, especially in the second half, secured the victory.

It moves Chris Willcock’s side up to sixth, although many teams in and around the NPL Premier Division playoff race didn’t play on Saturday due to weather-related postponements. 

There weren’t many chances of note before the opening goal - Kieran Preston in the Basford net had to be alert on a few occasions to clear the danger of an onrushing City player getting to the ball.

Charlie Bailey got the hosts in front with 25 minutes on the clock.

It was a great team goal that started in the centre and then moved to the flanks.

Kyle Brownhill on the left hand side then delivered a low and inviting cross which found Charlie Bailey, who was facing the back post.

The number 11 glided the ball into the far bottom corner.

It was Bailey’s eighth goal of the campaign. He is joint top scorer this season for the club alongside Dom Lawson.

Lawson had an opportunity to make it two just five minutes after Bailey’s strike.

Again, it was a ball from the left that found the forward, who turned and took his shot on, but it was straight at the ‘keeper.  

It was shortly after that when Tom Stewart made his first noteworthy contributions to the game, and they proved to be crucial.

Despite Lancaster looking decent after the goal, Basford came forward with intent just five minutes before the break.

However, Stewart was on hand to deliver two huge saves in the space of 10 seconds, first denying Koby Richards’ close range effort, then Toby Ritzema from distance. 

Basford started the second half strongly and continued to push for an equaliser until the very end.

Remaye Campbell forced a great save from Tom Stewart, who tipped a header away from goal.

Another Basford man tried to get the ball into the net from the rebound but was at too awkward an angle.

Jack Thomas and Kieran Fenton came close to equalising but their attempts were off target.

At the other end, Nic Evangelinos saw an effort cleared off the line in the final minutes of the game.

‘The Ambers’ were certainly the team who looked most likely to score in the second half but Lancaster did incredibly well to keep them at bay.

Charlie Barnes, named Player of the Match after the game, was particularly impressive at the back. 

Basford became more and more frustrated as the half progressed though and as such Lancaster held on, giving them a vital three points as they apply pressure on the top five. 

Dolly Blues’ boss Chris Willcock spoke to Beyond Radio after the game.

“I’m always delighted with a clean sheet," he said.

“I thought we were very good in the first half, I thought we moved the ball really well, created some very good chances.

“The goal we scored was very good, the way we linked it up through midfield, got Dom in the game in a crucial area, and he did exceptional to get the ball out wide to Kyle Brownhill and the rest is history - Charlie steps in and does what he’s being doing since I arrived. 

“We were comfortable in the first half, we only gave up one chance where Tom has come to the rescue with a double save.

“I was pleased at half time, but just thought in the second half we dropped off, looked a little bit leggy and didn’t have the energy levels that I was hoping for to go on and get a second to make the game a bit easier than it was in large periods of the half.”

Next up for Lancaster City is an away trip to Ashton United on Tuesday night in a rearranged game at Hurst Cross.

Willcock is focusing only on his side, despite the closely fought battle for playoff spots.

“I’m not focusing on everybody else, we can only affect what we’re doing," he said.

“We’ve got three away games now but our away form has been excellent, we’ve been good on our travels, picking up good points so let’s see what Tuesday night brings.”

Lancaster City: Stewart, S Bailey (c), Brownhill, Sloan, Barnes, Cowperthwaite, Evangelinos, Ikpakwu (Jarvis 65’), Lawson, Mellen, C Bailey (Connelly 62’)