RADCLIFFE FC suffered back-to-back defeats in the opening week of the Evo-Stik North campaign.

After going down 2-1 at home to Bamber Bridge on Saturday they suffered another setback in midweek with a 3-1 defeat at Droylsden.

The weekend’s opener was a tight battle that could have gone either way.

Boro recovered quickly after going behind to a Macauley Wilson free kick on the half hour, the set-piece giving Boro’s new Brazilian goalkeeper Adriano Basso no chance.

Five minutes later they were back level when Kurt Sherlock’s neat finish capped a lovely move.

After going into the break level Radcliffe could have gone in front in the 54th minute when Jack White was put in on goal, but his shot was well saved and Sherlock just missed the rebound.

Carl Peers was next to have a go for Boro with a shot from distance going wide in the 65th minute.

Radcliffe’s defence put in a great shift to keep the scores level, making a series of important interceptions.

But the visitors finally went in front 13 minutes from time when Basso fumbled the ball at the feet of Matt Lawler who converted from close range.

Boro tried hard to find a way back into the match but Gavin Ellison headed their best chance wide.

They were made to pay for an early missed chance at Droylsden, when Brendan Glackin put a free header at the back post into the side netting.

Another mistake from Basso led to the hosts’ opener in the 33rd minute, Ciaran Kilhenney heading in after the ball was dropped in front of him. Boro were opened up with ease for the second goal, five minutes into the second half, with Liam Caddick applying the finish.

Droylsden missed chances to add to their lead, while Basso pulled off a handful of decent stops before Sherlock pulled a goal back for Radcliffe in the 77th minute. Carl Peers was played through and he found Sherlock with a pull-back.

But any thoughts of a fightback were snubbed out shortly afterwards when Dominic Smith seized on a mistake on the halfway line to run through and finish in the bottom corner.