LANCASTER City suffered a frustrating afternoon as they sought to close the gap at the top of the Unibond Premier League title.

City were confident of victory in the game against Runcorn FC Halton, a side they had already beaten once this season.

The Dolly Blues opened the scoring after 23 minutes. Captain Kenny Mayers was the man responsible, turning a cross from Phil Brown past the visiting keeper.

Taking such an early lead has worked to City's advantage throughout the season, especially against the league's supposedly weaker sides.

However, on this occasion Runcorn were back on level terms within 15 minutes. Skipper Paul McNally rose highest and headed home at the far post.

It could have been even worse for City, with Runcorn having a goal ruled out for offside before the break.

However, neither side could take advantage of the deadlock after the break and the game petered out into a draw.

The only good news for city on Saturday came from Burton, where Nigel Clough's Albion side, still three points above the blues, only managed a disappointing home draw against Bamber Bridge.

The crazy world of the Unibond League fixture schedule means that City still have two games in hand to make up the deficit on Burton, but find Altrincham just three points behind them with a game in hand.

To put things into perspective, Bishop Auckland have played 20 games this season so far while Marine have played just 13, meaning that, already, clubs must be worried about the possibility of fixture congestion if the winter weather proves to be as bad as in previous years.