A GOAL against his former club from striker Brian Welch gave Lancaster City a hard earned victory over Accrington Stanley on Tuesday night, to rebound from a disappointing weekend defeat at Bradford.

Welch struck on 70 minutes after clever footwork by Colin Potts allowed him to play a subtle through ball, which the diminutive striker turned home under pressure from two defenders.

The result left former Morecambe and City ace John Coleman yelling at his Stanley players and, while his claim that his players had 80 per cent of the game was something of an exaggeration, the visitors did carve out some decent chances in the first half, with Banks forced into a save from Paul Mullin at close range.

Banks parried the striker's powerful drive.

The ball went straight back to Mullin but, under pressure, he fired over.

That stirred City and within a minute a Michael Yates cross found Colin Potts at the far post who headed just wide.

Michael Yates also had a shot well blocked at the near post.

Accrington's best second half chance went to St Kitts and Nevis international Lutel James, whose long range effort brought another good save out of Banks, who stood in for Mark Thornley Tony Hesketh said after the game: "The result is important tonight.

I have spoken to the players after Saturday and tonight was an improved performance.

"If we are going to keep in touch we have to try and win our games.

How we do it doesn' t matter." Lancaster 1 Accrington Stanley 0

SATURDAY'S game at Bradford was a different affair, with the Dolly Blues losing against a side who have struggled to escape the relegation zone this season.

Keeper Mark Thornley, who suffered concussion early in the game, picked the ball out of the net for the first time on 24 minutes when Andy Hayward's shot hit the post and was turned in by Jason Maxwell.

Fortunately for City, Maxwell was ruled offside.

Hayward himself had a goal stuck off for the same reason at the end of the half, as City struggled to find their usual fluency.

Hayward scored the winning goal five minutes after the break when he shot past Thornley from close range.

Lancaster's best chances fell to Michael Yates in the first half and Brian Welch in the second, both missing the target narrowly.

With Burton winning this result - and a team performance condemned by returning boss Hesketh as possibly Lancaster's worst during his spell in charge - means that the Unibond League title looks further away than ever.

The best chance now seems to be that Altrincham's financial problems and Burton's FA Trophy run distract their title rivals.

Bradford Park Avenue 1 Lancaster City 0