A Dom Lawson brace and a Jake Connelly strike gave the Dolly Blues, their second within 48 hours after picking up three points on Saturday at Guiseley.

The first 15 minutes featured hardly any chances of note and were more memorable for some fantastic defensive work by the likes of Ed Ikpakwu and Charlie Barnes.

The quick turnaround from a Saturday game to a Monday game is a challenge for any player but especially one who is only just returning from injury - Charlie Bailey was substituted off on the 14th minute. He was replaced by Blackpool loanee Tyler Hill, who went on to have another top performance.

The game burst into life on the 20 minute mark. Jake Connelly got his sixth of the season and second in as many games. Sam Bailey searched for a cross down the right hand side and saw Connelly’s energetic run through the middle into a goalscoring position. The skipper picked him out and the forward emphatically opened the scoring with the outside of his boot.

Eight minutes later, City’s lead was doubled. Danny Forbes’ back-pass under pressure to James Pradic in the Bamber Bridge goal was under-hit and Dom Lawson pounced. He dashed into the box before rounding Pradic and calmly walked the ball into the net in front of the home support.

Both Danny Forbes, himself a late replacement on the teamsheet for Macauley Wilson, and Simon Grand had to be substituted in the opening half due to injury, meaning that Bamber Bridge were left fielding a makeshift defence. Jeff Adubofour, cup-tied for the Lancashire FA Trophy tie, performed admirably for the visitors. Lancaster are only too aware of the qualities of Forbes, who scored on Boxing Day at the SFC Stadium, and Simon Grand began the season with a string of superb performances while wearing a Dolly Blue shirt.

Having being kept in their own half for the vast majority of the previous 15 minutes, the visitors started to attack more after the second goal.

Jack Baxter tried a curling effort from just inside the box, which would’ve crept into the near bottom corner had Tom Stewart not parried it away. A minute later, the lead was halved. Harry Scarborough got a 12th goal for the season, turning in a cross from the right by debutant Lorenze Mullarkey-Mathews.

Before the half time whistle sounded, Nic Evangelinos tried his luck from some way out, aiming for a second spectacular goal over the Easter weekend, but his speculative effort was tipped away by Pradic.

Dom Lawson was through on goal again on the stroke of half time after a great slide tackle from Sam Bailey won the ball back for the Dolly Blues high up the pitch. However, he was at a tight angle when he took his shot on, and could only find the side netting this time.

Bamber Bridge had the better of the chances in the opening stages of the second half but failed to cause many problems for Lancaster.

Charlie Barnes did well to block a Danny Edwards effort after some tricky footwork by the ‘Brig’ man. That was before the Dolly Blue defender had a chance himself at the other end from a corner - his header, which could’ve found another Lancaster man lurking in the six yard area, was parried by Pradic. Danny Edwards had another effort not long after from a corner, but it was well saved by the feet of Tom Stewart and cleared.

City’s lead returned to a two goal advantage with just over 20 minutes remaining. A Sam Bailey corner from the left found Dom Lawson, who headed the ball home for his tenth of the season. The club’s leading goal-scorer this season wheeled away in celebration but the job wasn’t done yet for City.

The visitors pulled a goal back once again just a couple of minutes after Lancaster’s third. A Michael Potts header meant the Dolly Blues’ lead was back to just the one goal once again.

The Lancaster rearguard did exceptionally well to hold off the visitors for the remainder of the game and 3-2 was how it finished. A header into the side netting from substitute Mark Cullen, a dangerous threat from off the bench as Lancaster know only too well following his hat-trick in the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy, was the closest they came to a leveller.

City are ninth in the NPL Premier Division, five points outside of the playoff places with three games remaining.

Their next game, their last one at home for the season, is against the team just below them in the league, Gainsborough Trinity, on Saturday afternoon.

Match Report courtesy of Beyond Radio's Ross Chapman.