MARK Danks and George Clegg both scored twice as a disjointed Worcester City laboured to a 4-1 victory against Lancaster City.

Andy Preece's side were expected to beat the Nationwide North basement boys and they duly delivered to collect three valuable points.

But, after starting out as a stroll in the park, City made hard work of killing off a spirited Lancaster side that finished the match with 10 men after losing Lee Sparks to injury with all three substitutes already on the field.

The hosts were 3-0 up before the break but struggled to find any fluency after the interval and made the crowd edgy when they conceded a 69th-minute penalty, which substitute Aaron Heliwell converted. Clegg calmed the nerves by adding City's fourth in the final minute.

Worcester made four changes from the side beaten by Leigh, bringing in Chris Cornes, Shaun Findlay, Shabir Khan and Nick Colley for the suspended Graham Ward, injured Adam Burley, Craig Wilding and Danny Hodnett.

They took the lead just 15 minutes in. Danks' run across the penalty area was halted by a trip from Karl Williams and Clegg beat James Brindle to his right with the resulting spot kick.

Danks doubled City's advantage on 23 minutes when he got his head on the end of Des Lyttle's goalward header following Clegg's corner.

A third could have followed four minutes later when Adam Webster superbly met Cornes' corner to fire past Brindle but Lyttle was judged to be holding back a Lancaster player in the box and the effort was chalked off.

City's deserved third arrived five minutes before half-time. Lyttle headed a free-kick across goal and Danks spun to drill the ball beyond Brindle.

City could have had another in the first-half when Danks rattled the woodwork with a rasping 20-yard drive.

But Lancaster - on minus one point at the bottom of the table following a 10-point deduction - refused to give up and got back into the game after 69 minutes when Danny McDonnell clattered into Sparks and substitute Heliwell fired home the penalty.

A mass brawl erupted 60 seconds later after Neil Ubershcar appeared to kick out at Cornes. Uberschar - subbed three minutes later - escaped with a booking but Cornes and Khan also had their names taken, presumably for retaliation.

City, with a man advantage following Sparks' departure with a suspected Achilles injury, pressed in search of a fourth and came agonisingly close when Chris Smith's header was cleared off the line with four minutes remaining.

Clegg finally put the game to bed with a 90th-minute volley, which followed the hosts' 10th corner of the game.

City: McDonnell, Lyttle, Khan, Smith, Thompson, Colley, Cornes, Findlay, Danks, Webster (Wilding 65), Clegg. Subs not used: Warmer, Walker, Hodnett, Pearce.

Attendance: 725.