NELSON'S Jekyll-and-Hyde season continued with a home defeat at the hands of Daisy Hill, the team they thrashed 8-1 in a cup game just seven days earlier.

This result cost John Bailey's team three vital points in their bid for promotion and was a severe setback for the Blues.

The Daisy Hill line-up was unchanged from the previous week, but it was soon clear that they were not going to be lambs to the slaughter as they tightly marked Nelson's dangermen and defended in numbers when required.

Nelson were restricted to very few chances in the first half and it was the 44th minute before visiting keeper Carl Johnson had a real save to make to keep out Lee Coldridge's diving header.

Mark Smith should have put Nelson in front just four minutes after the interval when Damien Moran's free kick reached him at the far post but he blasted the ball over the bar from point-blank range.

Nelson at times over-committed themselves in attack and Daisy Hill cashed in with their two strikers benefiting from the space they were given.

A Daisy Hill corner after 53 minutes caused problems in the Nelson goalmouth and Jimmy Dixon forced the ball home to give the visitors the lead.

Five minutes later, as Nelson pushed forward, a quick counter-attack released Gary Cuniff from the halfway line and he chipped the ball over the advancing keeper Billy Carrington to put Daisy Hill two goals in front.

Visiting keeper Johnson, no doubt still smarting from the previous week, kept Nelson at bay with good saves to deny Stuart Mulligan, Dave Gray and Nigel Coates and although John Bailey's glancing header appeared to have beaten him, the ball flew wide of the far post. Too many of Nelson's players failed to raise their game against a spirited performance by a defiant Daisy Hill.

NELSON...0 DAISY HILL...2