IT was another case of missed opportunities for the Magpies as an ordinary Belper side were allowed to make off with the points from Victory Park.

Incredibly, Chorley have yet to defeat Belper in six seasons in the UniBond First Division and, though the visitors had enjoyed an eight-goal scoring spree in midweek, they looked vulnerable enough for the Magpies to have ended such a wretched sequence.

It might have been a different game if Chorley had turned first half supremacy into goals but David Eatock was guilty of a shocking miss after rounding keeper Steve Cherry.

The visitors snatched the lead after 55 minutes when Nazha scored an instinctive striker's goal with a low drive through a forest of legs and then loss of concentration cost Chorley a second four minutes later, as Ben Walker beat the offside trap to beat John Gillies

A handball in the Belper penalty area threw Chorley a lifeline on 63 minutes, Vermiglio scoring confidently from the spot.

The game unexpectedly boiled over in the closing stages with a series of ugly skirmishes, and Belper's Michael Lyons was booked twice in two minutes.

, was ordered off, with several others lucky to escape censure from an indulgent referee. This unnecessary defeat again highlighted Chorley's lack of physical presence in key positions and the acquisition of a forceful striker becomes an even more urgent priority.