VAUXHALL Motors were left ruing their missed chances as they were beaten 2-0 at Clitheroe.

The Motormen were looking to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat to Avro on Tuesday night against a side who were also looking to get back to winning ways having failed to win any of their last three.

Danny Holmes made three changes to the 11 that started in midweek in Ellesmere Port as Jack Atkinson returned between the sticks having served his suspension, which was picked up in the defeat to Bootle on February 3.

George Nugent replaced Jordan Deer up front whilst Ben Holmes provided extra legs in midfield as striker Jay Harvey took to the bench.

Clitheroe made a strong start to the game as Jack Massey fired his shot over the crossbar from inside the box. Atkinson soon made a brilliant save with his feet following a good shot from Matty Clarke, to keep the game level.

The tie was very competitive and Vauxhall were creating chances of their own as defender Adam Hughes flicked his header, from a George Nugent cross, narrowly wide.

However, the hosts opened the scoring on the 30th minute mark when Amaar Hussain raced past the defence before chipping the ball over Atkinson.

Vauxhall searched for the leveller before the whistle blew for half time but shots from forwards Jake Kirby and Joe Brandon were fired wide.

Following the break, Vauxhall received a golden opportunity to score when the referee deemed that Andrew Teague had handled the ball inside the box.

However, Clitheroe keeper Hakan Burton was able to save Connor Rankin’s tamely struck penalty.

With the visitors continuing their hunt for an equaliser, Rankin forced a mistake between the hosts backline but he wasn’t able to take full advantage of the opportunity.

Holmes made a few changes late on, bringing Jordan Deer and Jay Harvey on to add fresh, skillful legs up front. However, it was Clitheroe that found the back of the net as debutant Louis Potts fired in from the right hand side of the box with 20 minutes left on the clock.

Clitheroe struck the woodwork with just minutes left on the clock after a fantastic strike from outside of the box, rattling against Atkinson's crossbar. 

Vauxhall are back in action on Tuesday night with a friendly at Marine as Clitheroe travel to Bootle next Saturday.