RADCLIFFE BOROUGH 0, WHITBY TOWN 1: One moment of indecision cost Boro dearly, against a hard working but limited Whitby side, yet it was the Seasiders who disappeared back across the Pennines with all three Unibond League Premier Division points, leaving Boro unrewarded for all their hard work.

The first half was a tight affair, with the visitors happy to soak up the pressure and try to stifle Boro's offensive probings. Allied to a typically physical approach to the game in general, it was never going to be easy for a Boro side determined to at least try to play flowing, inventive football.

As early as the third minute a free kick was floated forward to the league's leading scorer, Steve Foster, who could only volley wide.

Gary Sampson then combined well with Foster down the left only to see the final ball into the Town box cut out, while Ciaran Kilheeney's shot on the turn went just wide.

Boro were producing some fluid, attacking, and at times admirable one-touch football, when the ball was played on the ground; when it was lumped forward it was easily dealt with by Town's towering central defensive partnership of Danny Farthing and former Bury fringe player, Brian Linighan.

At the other end for Town, Liam Gildea was proving to be a pain to play against, especially Boro skipper Simon Kelly, the two enjoying a 90-minute duel as the muscular forward battled hard and at times illegally to unsettle the Boro defence and disrupt its midfield flow.

In attack Whitby showed little, with Ormerod's mishit shot on 15 minutes a rare incursion into the Boro box.

Foster and Kilheeney were linking well together for Boro up front, but the best chance of the first half was initiated by recent centre-back signing, Darren Royle.

His down-field clearance header on 34 minutes bounced off opposite number Linighan and fell kindly for Foster, whose stinging shot was well gathered by Town goalkeeper David Campbell.

A few minutes later Royle rose majestically to head Fleury's corner goalward, only to be denied a goal by Karl Richards' outstretched leg.

McGuire's cross on the turn was then met by Kelly, whose header fell to Kilheeney, but the flame-haired striker hooked his volley the wrong side of the post.

A minute into injury time at the end of the first half, recent signing Craig Fleury turned well to beat his marker before threading the ball through to Foster, but he shot straight at Campbell.

Against the run of play Whitby took the lead 11 minutes after the restart.

A quickly taken throw-in out on the right touchline caught the Boro defence flat-footed and when the shot went in Johnston could only parry it.

The ball spun away from him and Ormerod beat Kelly to tuck it inside the left hand post.

The goal visibly lifted Whitby, who began to probe forward further, particularly down the left for the first real time in the game; Scott Nicholson had a shot blocked and Richards blasted across the face of goal.

Momentarily Boro seemed to lose their impetus but after a few minutes regained it and a tidy knockdown from Foster fell onto Kilheeney's foot, but he volleyed off-target.

Glendon introduced another recent signing, Will Dolan, for the tiring Fleury, and after he adjusted to the pace of the game Boro began to create more chances.

Royle was pushed up front as Boro sought to use him as a target man, and he latched onto another corner but headed straight at Campbell.

Minutes later he met another corner but his header this time was blocked a yard short of the line.

Boro's final chance to grab a share of the points came in the 92nd minute.

Royle laid the ball off for Scott Wilson, whose well struck volley seemed destined to dip under the Whitby bar and into the net.

Unfortunately Campbell showed his athleticism once more to tip the ball over his bar.

BORO: Johnston, Spencer, McGuire, Kelly (c), Royle, Sampson, Wilson, Fleury, Kilheeney, Foster, Forrest. Subs: O'Shaughnessy, Dolan (for Fleury, 67), Hill.