GREAT Harwood Town suffered a disappointing NWCL Division Two defeat at the hands of Stone Dominoes, yet according to boss John Hughes his side could so easily have been the victors.

"Particularly in the first half I thought we played our best football of the season,"he said. "I felt their first goal was crucial - it really knocked the stuffing out of us having dominated the game up to that point.

"When they nicked another our heads dropped completely and we never really looked capable of mounting a fightback."

Both Andy McNally and Richard Fogarty failed to make the most of the opportunites that came their way in a one-sided first half - misses that were to prove costly as a defensive lapse minutes before the interval allowed Lee Lainton to rise and head Stone in front.

Just before the hour mark Paul Donnelly volleyed his side further ahead and two goals in four minutes from Colin Fletcher and Jamie Cartwright made Stone's victory look a touch more convincing than it actually was.

STONE DOMINOES...4 GREAT HARWOOD TOWN...0