Whitby Town boss Nathan Haslam regrets missed chances after visitors Lancaster City grab late draw

Whitby - who took the lead early in the second half through Nathan Thomas - were pegged back by Christian Sloan in the 84th minute, writes Paul Connolly.

And Haslam was disappointed his side couldn't hold on to all three points and missed a chance to go within just five points of the play-offs.

"To go a goal up and letting Lancaster equalise is disappointing," the Whitby manager reflected.

"It feels like we've dropped two points. We've missed opportunities and had great chances in the game

"In the end, they've pressed on for the win and we've got to thankful really that we've got a point from the game.

"Both keepers were very good. For us, Shane [Bland] has pulled off a string of good saves to keep us level. But we have to rue our missed opportunities. I don't think Lancaster would've been in that position to look to go on and win it had we taken our opportunities."

Haslam made just one change from the side that beat Hyde on Saturday, Jacob Gratton replacing Alfie Doherty.

And it was Gratton who almost gave Whitby an early lead in the game, cutting inside from the right and aiming goalwards. He saw his low effort stopped by the legs of Tom Stewart at the near post.

Just a minute later, it was Lancaster's turn to go close, though Bland was equal to Sam Bailey's dipping effort.

On 18 minutes, Brad Fewster's angled ball fell to the feet of Junior Mondal in acres of space.

The Seasiders' top scorer found himself one-on-one with Stewart, though was thwarted by him when he attempted to round the Dolly Blues' gloveman. Jacob Gratton tried to fire home the follow-up but saw his effort blocked.

It was then Lewis Hawkins' turn to have a go for goal, curling an attempt goalwards, though Stewart was equal to it once again, before Nathan Thomas failed to get on the end of a fizzed ball across the face of the six-yard box.

After the break, it was the Seasiders making all the running in the quest to break the deadlock.

Almost from the restart, Thomas broke down the left and lofted the ball into the box. Priestley Griffiths struck on the volley, though Stewart was on hand to keep it out.

At the other end, Nic Evangelinos headed onto the roof of the net for City, though it was Whitby looking the most likely.

Fewster saw an effort pushed wide for a corner just five minutes into the half, before Town finally found a breakthrough moments later.

Blues skipper Dan Rowe struck the post with a looping effort following the corner before Thomas fired home emphatically on the rebound to open the scoring.

Not content with just the one, Whitby continued their search for another.

Gratton again saw an effort blocked by the legs of Stewart, before Thomas then saw his second of the match ruled out for offside.

And just moments later Lancaster found a leveller. The ball dropped to Christian Sloan 25 yards from goal, who fired a first-time effort across Bland and into the top corner.

From there, it was City who looked the most likely to go on and win the game.

Bland pulled off a string of saves to keep the score level, most notably to deny Dominic Lawson a couple of minutes from time.

The draw leaves Whitby seven points from the top five, though with a number of games in hand on teams above them in the division.

Whitby Town: Bland, Griffiths, Shepherd, Gell (Walker '84), Rowe (C), Beeden, Hawkins, Gratton, Fewster (Greaves '90+1), Thomas, Mondal (Doherty '69). Subs not used: Haswell, Smith.

Lancaster City: Stewart, S. Bailey (C), Brownhill, Sloan, Barnes, Cowperthwaite, Evangelinos, Elewa-Ikpakwu (Mellen '72), Lawson, Norris (Jarvis '72), C. Bailey (Connelly '58).