ASK any football manager if he wanted a game abandoned with his side losing 2-0 and just eight minutes remaining, only fools or the most committed disciples of fair play would answer no!

That was the question put to Worcester City boss Richard Dryden on Saturday when the lights went out at Liberty Way and he could not get his players in the showers quick enough.

The bizarre circumstances came about as City looked destined for a third successive defeat this season at the hands of Midlands neighbours Nuneaton.

A double floodlight failure down one side of the ground in the 80th minute, lasting for almost half-an-hour, and two minutes into the restart, forced Leicestershire referee Terry Simmons into a difficult situation.

Unsure as to whether the lights would come back on for the fixture to be finished, Mr Simmons chose to call upon the verdicts of the rival managers.

Nuneaton's Kevin Wilkin obviously wanted to wait but Dryden felt it was time to call it a day.

Fortunately for Worcester and their fans, the match official sided with the City chief and abandoned the local derby.

Within five minutes the Liberty Way lights were up and running for the next half hour although the power failure meant the Nuneaton versus Launceston rugby union clash that was set to kick-off at 5.30pm on the same pitch had to be postponed.

Earlier the drama had been less intense with Boro dictating the opening half against a lethargic and uninspired City.

Goals from midfielders Matty Collins and Bradley Pritchard before the interval had put Nuneaton in the box seat and, though City improved after the break, they struggled to penetrate a defiant defence.

From the opening whistle, Nuneaton were on the offensive and took the lead on seven minutes from a flowing four-man move.

Connor Franklin penetrated a slow reacting City defence for Andy Brown and Jordan Stepien to set up Collins who rifled a low 12-yarder past Cameron Belford and into the far corner of the net.

The visitors struggled to find any momentum going forward against a solid backline, while the hosts continued to press.

Pritchard then rounded Belford but from a narrow angle could only find the side-netting, before the midfielder saw a rising 20-yarder fly past Belford and clatter the bar.

But on 33 minutes it was third time lucky for Pritchard. With City expecting to get a free-kick for offside, Mr Simmons chose to give Nuneaton the set-piece from which Stepien was fouled on the edge of the area.

With the visiting defence still in disarray, Craig McIlwain fed the free-kick through Tom Curtis' legs to Franklin. The wing-back's low drive was superbly controlled by Pritchard and he coolly fired past the exposed Belford from eight yards.

Worcester's best offering of the opening period came just before the interval when Jamie Price's free-kick from wide right flew through a sea of legs but keeper Darren Acton managed to block at his near post.

City looked more purposeful at the start of the second-half although it was from set plays they posed their main threat with Price just off target from 25 yards and then forcing Acton to punch clear at full stretch from a similar effort.

The home keeper also did superbly to grasp skipper Emeka Nwadike's deflected cross-shot right on the goalline as City savoured their best spell of the game.

It then needed a last-gasp challenge by McIlwain to deny George Clegg, who looked favourite to get on the end of Graham Ward's fierce low cross.

On 80 minutes the floodlights went out and when the game restarted some 26 minutes later Boro's Gavin Cowan immediately headed against the bar but within seconds the lights went out again and City were given a reprieve and a return to Liberty Way later in the season.