CLITHEROE gave a wonderful account of themselves in this Marsden Cup quarter-final clash, but crashed out after a debatable refereeing decision.

A Steve Aspinall penalty awarded in extra time was the body blow that left Clitheroe reeling, before the knockout punch was finally delivered by Bridge striker Carwyn Williams.

Clitheroe had all the chances, but none of the luck in normal time, with Steve Denny in particular coming to rue missed opportunities.

Denny had the goal at his mercy after Dennis Hill picked him out six yards from goal, but his effort was off-target when it looked more difficult to miss.

The non-league heroes of this season's FA Cup created chances of their own but never really deserved anything from the tie. Clitheroe always looked the more likely to score, but after an energy-sapping 90 minutes, the fateful period of extra time reared its ugly head.

Parry's men continued their assault without creating any clear-cut chances. But when the ball broke loose, it was the away side who capitalised and broke down the field.

However, when the move seemed to break down in the box, the referee spotted an infringement that even the Bamber Bridge players seemed confused about and awarded a penalty, despite the protests of the furious Clitheroe players. Aspinall confidently stuck away the spot-kick and from there it was all downhill, Williams compounding the misery in the 106th minute with a close range effort to sink the Blues' hopes of a semi-final place.

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