The hosts came out on top in what was a feisty encounter, but one that over the course of the piece resulted in a deserved three points for Brig.

There were very few chances for either side of the first half with Brig growing into the game as the first period progressed.

The home side did get an opening just before the 20-minute mark as Aaron Skinner played an inch-perfect pass over the top of the Lancaster defence for Sinclair-Smith to latch onto, but his effort was saved by Wyll Stanway.

There was a decision to be made for the referee midway through the half as Skinner was adjudged to have caught Simon Wills in the middle of the park, but the former Tottenham man only received a caution from the official.

Chances were few and far between in the first 45 minutes with Lancaster ending the half with a sight of goal as debutant Cian McDermott tried his luck with an acrobatic effort which flew wide of the post.

Brig started the second half a lot better than they did in the first and got an early goal as Sinclair-Smith beat the offside trap and slotted past Stanway to break the deadlock.

The home side nearly doubled their advantage just minutes later as Isaac Sinclair got down the right-hand side and drilled a ball across which deflected off a Lancaster defender. It looked to be going into his own goal, only for a brilliant reflex save from Stanway to deny the hosts.

Lancaster did push to find an equaliser and nearly had one just before the hour mark as Hewelt was forced into two saves in quick succession to deny the visitors, who didn’t have much luck in front of goal across the 90 minutes.

In the last ten minutes of the game, Brig managed to put the game to bed with a scrappy second goal after a deep cross found Sinclair-Smith at the back post whose shot was saved before the ball was scrambled over the line by Sinclair.

Lancaster did get a consolation goal in the last minute of added time as City captain Andrew Teague scrambled the ball home and the celebrations seemed to spark a reaction from both sets of players, but it was too little too late for the visitors as the final whistle sounded soon after.

A deserved win for the home side as they look to push on and continue their promotion push as they look ahead to a trip to Warrington Town on New Year’s Day.

Match report by Josh Knowles (@JKnowlesSport)