WILL Dolman scored his 200th goal for Windermere against Lytham St Anne’s on Saturday but a 3-3 draw was definitely two North League points dropped for Cumbria’s top men’s team.

A Steve Heyns pass allowed Ed Brownell to open the scoring and drag flick specialist Dolman doubled that advantage with a signature short corner effort.

But Lytham reduced the arrears with a penalty stroke for deliberate obstruction and tellingly trailed by just one goal at half-time.

Dolman’s 200th Mere goal came when Heyns won another short corner and at 3-1 Mere looked like consolidating their fourth place in Division Two (West), but a poor closing 15 minutes allowed Lytham to grab another goal and then an unlikely equaliser with the final play of the match.

Mere have five league games to go and can still close the gap to third place but they will have to do better at maintaining their focus.

* Windermere Ladies had to dig deep to overcome Fylde 3s 4-3 in a thrilling Lancashire Central Women’s League Division One encounter at the Lakes School.

Katie Harrison fired Mere ahead in the opening minutes but Fylde quickly levelled and although Mere then dominated it took a long time before Alice Boston scored a deserved second goal, at a short corner. However, Fylde replied instantly with their own short corner strike to make it 2-2 at half-time.

Fylde then took the lead for the first time, but Windermere equalised from a short corner when Cat Drury found skipper Hannah Clark unmarked at the back post and she slotted the ball into goal.

Both teams battled hard for the decider but it was Mere who were the more expansive and a passing move across the pitch was joyously finished in style by Cat Drury to clinch all three points.

Second-placed Mere have a chance to go top again when they face new league leaders Garstang at home in their next game on February 25th.

* Windermere’s U12 Boys and U10 Girls are through to the Border counties round of the national In2Hockey junior competition. The boys – northern champions at U10 last year - topped Cumbria’s U12 group and the girls were runners-up in the U10s at Sunday’s county round in Kirkby Stephen.