Two moments of sloppiness cost Matlock dearly in their mid table battle at Crosby as the Mariners recovered from going a goal behind early on to extend their unbeaten sequence to seven matches.
It was a game that Matlock should not have lost, but they also did not do quite enough to win what was a fairly open contest on a surprisingly firm surface.
Matlock gave a start to Nathan Benger with Jordan Hall being relegated to the substitutes bench, so it was the side which finished the midweek drawn match against Buxton. And that form continued into the opening stages of Saturday's game with Matlock starting the brighter and getting a greast lift in the 8th minute when BENGER gave them the lead. The goal owed much to top marksman Ross Hannah, who this time was the provider, easily beating Shaun Callacher on the left before hoisting in a fine cross which saw Benger outjump Ian latham to head beyond Tim Dittmer at the far post.
Ben Algar might have doubled the lead shortly afterwards but he dragged his shot beyond Dittmer's left hand upright when he had more time than he thought to assess his options.
But the first moment of sloppiness came in the 22nd minute when Marine broke to win a corner. The ball was floated in from the right and Adam Sollitt struggled to find enough power in his punched clearance. JOHN SHAW picked up the pieces to fire a low shot home.
Bristol official Mark Russell infuriated the travelling fans when a Hannah free kick was clearly deflected wide by a Mariners defender, but he awarded the hosts a goal kick. Earlier he had booked Steve Warne for an innocuous challenge which was barely worth a free kick, never mind a yellow card!
Jamie Rainford ran from deep on 29 minutes and his twenty yarder was only a foot or so wide as Matlock gave him far too much space. Just a minute later Benger pulled his shot wide when well placed after fine approach play by Nathan Joynes.
Hannah then volleyed wide of the near post from a difficult angle and just before the break an instant effort from Joynes had Dittmer scrambling but the ball drifted wide. In between an important block from Mark Haran had denied Steve Hussey.
The tit for tat flow continued into the second half as Benger drove wide before Haran knocked a Marine corner off the goal line. Then Benger headed an algar centre straight at Dittmer.
There was an escape for Town on 58 minutes when nobody picked up central defender Michael Jackson from a left wing corner and his header, fortunately for the visitors, dropped wide. Joe Fowler's long range effort was off target but Matlock made Marine's task a good deal easier when on 63 minutes, they conceded a poor second goal.
Uncharacteristically, Steve Warne was at fault, carelessly gifting SEAN DOHERTY the ball some 25 yards from his goal. Doherty did not stand on ceremony as he lashed a fierce drive on the run beyond the diving Sollitt.
Matlock made a double substitution as Danny Wood and Dene Cropper replaced Joynes and Algar. Cropper did well as he cleverly linked up play and when he nodded an Adam Yates cross on it took great work by Callacher to snuff out the threat from the waiting Hannah.
Lukic shot high and handsomely wide from a corner as Matlock looked for a way back. They had the ball in the net in the 75th minute but Cropper had clearly handled and earned a yellow card for his trouble.
More sturdy defending from the hosts denied Warne and Hannah before Hannah found himself clear of the last defender, but Jackson recovered well and did just enough to distract Hannah who lifted his shot over the bar.
Matlock threw men forward which left gaps at the back and when they stood off substitute Liam Rushton, Sollitt did well to push aside the shot before the goalkeeper also tipped away a Thomas Moore free kick.
A late clash saw Stephen Brown join captain Steve Hussey in the book with Brown being fortunate to stay on after a head butt towards Jordahn Hall.
The Gladiators had been the architect of their own downfall as Marine avenged their 3-0 defeat at Causeway Lane in November.
MATLOCK TOWN: Adam Sollitt, Adam Yates, Scott Brough (Jordan Hall 82), Liam King, Mark Haran, James Lukic, Nathan Benger, Steve Warne, Nathan Joynes (Dene Cropper 69), Ross Hannah, Ben Algar (Danny Wood 69)
REFEREE: M Russell-Bristol. ATTENDANCE: 290 STAR MAN: James Lukic.
