FURIOUS Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman blasted his side after failing to nail down three points against lowly Lancaster.

The Reds bossed the game virtually from start to finish but either missed gilt-edged chances or were denied by goalkeeper Mark Thornley.

Despite being crowned champions more than a week ago, Coleman vented his frustration to his players in the dressing room after the final whistle. And former Lancaster striker Brian Welch, who started the game on the left flank, was delighted with his new manager's reaction.

"You've won the league then drop points from a game that you should win and the manager's going berserk. That's a good sign for me," he said.

"It shows the passion and determination. It's good to see, rather than coming in and saying 'it doesn't matter, you're champions anyway'.

"We had a hell of a lot of chances but the goalkeeper played very well and pulled off some great saves. That's the way football is. You can't knock Paul (Mullin) and Lutel (James) because they've got around 60 goals between them.

"Championship winning sides still win 1-0 when you're 1-0 up. Unfortunately we didn't but we can still get 100 points, and hopefully 100 goals, and that's what we'll be going for on Saturday."

It was all Stanley in the first half as they drove at Lancaster, with Mullin and James linking well up front.

James was unlucky to see his deft chip drop wide from Mullin's pass in the fifth minute. The Reds' leading goalscorer then struck the post and Mullin's follow-up was turned away by Thornley.

Mullin had two headers saved comfortably and Andy Procter was unlucky to see his effort curl just over the bar.

Stanley finally took a deserved lead on 25 minutes. Mullin worked hard on the left to get a cross in for James inside the area. The ball was steered away by the head of Andy Fensome but dropped kindly for Steve Flitcroft. His right foot shot was well saved by Thornley, but he could only parry it as far as James, who headed past the recovering keeper.

James' touch was assured, his runs determined and his eye for goal was as keen as ever. But despite his and his team-mates' numerous chances, Stanley couldn't put the game beyond Lancaster.

Thornley spread himself to twice deny Mullin, and Stanley were made to suffer for their profligacy following the introduction of livewire Chris Bennett.

Bennett put Lancaster level after cutting in from the left and firing an angled shot past Jamie Speare nine minutes after replacing Ricky Mercer.

ACCRINGTON STANLEY ...1

LANCASTER CITY ...1