ELLIOT Starkie and Raheem Saddique may have duelled in the setting sun but the pair were overshadowed by James Halpin.

As Lammack Juniors striker Starkie and his Mellor counterpart Sadd-ique cancelled each other out with two goals each - it was Halpin who nullified the threat as Mellor threa-tened to win this keenly contested derby battle.

And he didn’t even start the match.

Halpin (the ‘other’ num-ber nine as Lewis Fielding also wore the same shirt) had a knack of being in the right place in the right time - whether it was with a timely tackle, crucial block or just tidying up in the middle of the park.

He turned out to be Lammack’s unlikely mat-ch winner - although Kyle Shackleton may lay claim to that title as it was his neat finish at the back post that separated the sides.

Both teams went in to this early season, top-of-the-table clash boasting 100 per cent records.

And that confidence showed as both sides were keen to get the ball down and play - despite being hampered by a brisk wind.

However, that wind was to aid Lammack in their opening goal.

The home side started brightly and Ben Norman produced a smart save to deny Joseph Riley.

But Siddique showed an early glimpse of the mayhem he was to cause in the Lammack rear-guard with a run and snapshot across goal.

Lammack’s opener was route one stuff but the finish was sublime.

Keeper Marc Smith’s wind-assisted boot upfi-eld was controlled by Starkie with his back to goal before turning and lobbing the keeper.

In between, Siddique was still proving to be a threat while Smith man-aged to scoop away an effort from Joshua Barlow.

But Lammack were soon 2-0 up when Starkie raced on to a loose ball, kept his composure and lifted the ball over Norman, althou-gh the keeper did well to get a hand to the ball.

But Mellor were right back in it when Siddique burst clear down the left, cut inside and drilled a shot across Smith.

And they were on level terms early in the second half when Barlow split the Lammack defence and Siddique did the rest.

Mellor were now on top but, fortunately, Lamm-ack had Halpin among their ranks.

It wasn’t necessarily pretty but it was defini-tely effective as he denied Mellor - a goalline block and a sliding tackle on Siddique the pick.

It gave Lammack the chance to get their pass-ing game going again and, after a period of pressure, Fielding swung in a deep corner and Shackleton side-footed home at the far post to net the winner.

Late on, Starkie had a chance to complete his hat-trick from the penalty spot but saw his effort well saved by Norman.