Lancaster City 3 Emley 3

LANCASTER were left fuming after a string of refereeing errors denied them all three points against league leaders Emley.

The man in black, Leo Higgins, was at the centre of the controversy as all three Emley goals shouldn't have been allowed and after the match he said to Tony Hesketh: I've had a bad one.

The referee even admitted to one of the City players that he had injured his leg after just two minutes, which explained why he failed to keep up with play on a number of occasions, and his assessor in the crowd didn't look amused by the whole farce.

Manager Tony Hesketh said: "We feel that we have been robbed. The referee has made three mistakes for their three goals and it's very disappointing.

Lancaster started well when they took the lead in the 16th minute. Colin Potts worked superbly down the left wing to get past the defender and then deliver a good cross. Kenny Mayers' first time shot was blocked but Phil Brown was on hand to fire the rebound in to the net.

City continued to dominate the game and stretched their lead to two goals in the 23rd minute. Brown was brought down and Brian Butler took the free kick quickly to Potts on the right wing. He drove in another dangerous cross and it was met by Emley's Nicky Wood, who powerfully headed into his own net.

The second half began with Emley being reduced to ten men. The referee's assistant on the far side indicated that Lancaster had a free kick for Ryan Crossley showing his studs to one of the City players but it was the disgraceful language that followed which made him see red.

So 2-0 up and against ten men, Lancaster were cruising.

But on this memorable F.A Cup day, Lancaster were reminded once again of their match at Northampton two years ago where a Cobblers defender was sent off and after that, every decision went against City. Unfortunately, this match was to be reminiscent of that day.

Five minutes into the second half and Emley were awarded a dubious penalty for pushing. Simeon Bambrook had his spot kick saved and the follow-up by Weal Nazha was kept out by another superb reaction save at the expense of a corner.

The resulting corner saw Miles Thorpe's shot hit off the bar and then a scramble where twice Emley players seemed to handle the ball, but play continued and the ball found the back of the net.

Lancaster continued attacking where they could and should have made it 3-1, but teenage hotshot Chris Ward wasn't his normal self.

In the 54th Ward brought down a long ball from Jimmy Graham to leave himself one-on-one with the keeper but he drove his shot straight into the hands of Paul Cuss.

Then in the 60th, a good run took Ward into the box but he was torn between shooting and crossing to Lee Clitheroe. His final ball was neither one nor the other as the ball ran out for a goal kick.

Emley equalised from the penalty spot in the 66th minute when Paul Haddow was adjudged to have handled the ball, even though it looked like ball to hand from the sidelines. Bambrook stepped up for the spot kick and this time he didn't miss, drilling the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.

Lancaster regained their lead in the 70th when a free kick seemed to hit the hands of one of the Emley wall but City played to the whistle and Kenny Mayers drove the ball through a crowd of players past the stranded Cuss.

Again Emley equalised in the 75th minute, and again the goal should not have stood. Nazha made a penetrating run but did so illegally as he bundled over Haddow before playing the ball, but the referee waved play on and his cross ricocheted off a defender and fell to Darren Day who slid the ball beneath Thornley to level the game.