RADCLIFFE BORO 1, LINCOLN UNITED 1: Despite seeing his side squander a one goal lead, Boro boss Kevin Glendon was pleased with his side's performance.

"I thought it was a game too much for us with the small squad we have, we were short of bodies and "Scholesy" (Scott Wilson) wasn't fully fit, but they showed great commitment and we never gave up," he said

"You know how much your players want it when they come off distraught after only getting a draw at home, they were inconsolable, you would have thought they had lost 6-0!"

The visitors started the brighter with Charlie Trout testing Boro keeper Danny Hurst with a low shot and Matt Roche an overhead kick inside the opening 10 minutes.

Their approach was refreshing, being similar to Boro's in that they like to pass the ball, rather than take the route one approach many visitors to Stainton Park prefer.

Indeed, it took Boro a while to get into the flow of the game, hampered in central midfield by a less than fit Scott Wilson, who was certainly not at 100 per cent, which allowed United's much travelled skipper Paul Miller and Gary Bull space and time in which to set moves up.

Battersby then found Foster with a good through-ball but he was adjudged offside and then Kilheeney hooked a Battersby cross wide.

With shots on target few and far between from both sides it was the visitors who ended the opening half the happier, with Boro stopper Danny Hurst forced to punch clear and then tip over a Paul Bartle inswinging corner.

Boro certainly raised their game going into the second half and within minutes of the re-start Martyn Forrests volley was punched clear by United keeper Nick Conroy, he was forced to save from Battersby a minute later.

Boro then went ahead on 50 minutes and the goal owed a lot to Forrest's perseverance.

He chased a back pass which forced Conroy into a rushed clearance which only went as far as Steve Foster, his low shot then beat Conroy into the net as he desperately sprinted back after being caught badly out of position.

Six minutes later United thought they'd equalised when Mark Hone headed home, but the referee blew for a foul on Hurst.

However, Lincoln were not to be denied an equaliser and it arrived on 69 minutes.

Bull's inswinging cross-cum-shot looped over the Boro defence and Hurst to nestle into the top left-hand corner of the home net.

Roche then fired inches wide as United sniffed victory.

Glendon changed things around on 72 minutes when he replaced Dean Crowther with Phil Denney to change formation and go with three out-and-out strikers.

On 78 minutes Kilheeney produced an impressive turn to shake-off his marker but Conroy just about held onto his low bobbling shot.

Duffy, who was one of Boro's most effective players on the day, then almost restored Boro's lead when his right-wing cross deceived Conroy but unfortunately not the bar.

A minute before time Glendon's last throw of the dice saw him replace Kilheeney with youth team striker Mike Wilkinson, who scored in last week's cup win at Chorley, and it almost paid off.

In an almost copybook move that brought about the goal, the youngster chased down another Conroy clearance kick that again found Foster, but Boro's leading marksman was this time off-target and Boro had to settle for a share of the points.

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l Hurst, Duffy, Kelly, McGuire, Hill, Crowther, Wilson, Battersby, Kilheeney, Foster, Forrest. Subs: Denney (for Crowther, 72), Wilkinson (for Kilheeney, 89), Spencer.

PETER COLLINS