IF this game had been a boxing bout, the referee would have called it off at half-time - such was the dominance of Boro - but a failure to finish their chances proved costly as struggling Whitby staged the perfect smash-and-grab raid to clinch all three points.

Radcliffe pummelled their visitors in a one-sided first half but were left empty-handed when Whitby bagged the winner through Andrew Brown, then defended stoutly to record only their third win of the season in the second period.

Boro manager Kevin Glendon said: "We created a lot of chances and our keeper only had one save to make.

"We could have had 20 goals in the last three games alone if we had taken our chances, but we haven't been finding the back of the net and it has cost us once again.

"Once Whitby scored they just sat back and never came out once. Even before the goal, they showed no attacking intent."

Despite the defeat, however, Glendon was full of praise for his players. "I couldn't fault any of them," he said.

"They all gave everything they had and perhaps the only players who could have done better are the strikers.

"They should have scored but apart from that their overall performances was fine. I can't understand why the ball isn't going in for Fozzie (Steve Foster) this season."

Radcliffe Boro 0

Whitby Town 1

UniBond Premier League

Boro fielded former Manchester City midfielder Ged Brannan as Bernard Morley dropped to the bench and were soon into their stride when Foster shot wide when clean through on seven minutes.

Keeper Phil Priestley made a good save from Tom Raw before Carl Lomax was caught offside from Brannan's peach of a pass over the top.

Loan star Matty O'Neill was causing no end of problems for the Whitby defence with his mazy runs and he shot wide on 25 minutes after leaving four men in his wake.

Scott Wilson blazed a couple of efforts over the bar before Foster chipped over when put through by Brannan.

With half-time approaching, O'Neill was back in the thick of things again when he ran at the back-peddalling Seasiders' defence before finding Carl Lomax in acres of space. Lomax got his effort on target but keeper David Campbell was equal to the test and tipped the ball around for a corner.

Foster again went close and skipper Simon Kelly saw his low 25-yard effort fumbled but Boro still couldn't breach the visiting defence and were forced into the half-time break on level terms.

Boro came out the more positive after the break and O'Neill again shot wide after a tricky run before a bizarre mix-up nearly put Boro into the lead. Campbell came tearing out from his line, missed the ball and Brannan had an open net to aim for but the ball got stuck under his feet.

A chance fell for Lomax but his effort was cleared from the line by a defender and Town were somehow still in the contest.

Whitby manager Dave Logan then pulled a masterstroke when he sent on David McTiernan for the quiet Chris Batchelor.

Within 60 seconds, McTiernan had supplied the cross from the right for Brown to score the winning goal.

Boro still had chances to haul themselves back into the game and Brannan missed another sitter when the ball fell to him after a cross from the right.

Whitby were now camped in their own half and Boro were employing the flanks without success.

Foster had a couple of chances to score from Tony Whealing crosses but, try as they might, Boro couldn't find the onion bag and were left to rue a combination of poor finishing and bad luck.

The defence, marshalled by Kelly and Matty Barrass was solid and the midfield full of running and endeavour.

However, goals win matches and once Boro begin to turn their superiority into goals, they will start to climb the table.

BORO: Priestley 7, Duffy 7 (Sampson 6), Whealing 7, Kelly 7, Barrass 7, McGuire 6, Wilson 7, Brannan 6, Lomax 6, Foster 6, O'Neil 8.

MARC HIGGINSON