FRESH from a midweek friendly victory against FC United, Maine Road entertained Nelson on the first day of the new Vodkat League season.

The opening exchanges were fairly even with both sides missing chances before Road dominated the final quarter-hour of the first period.

They took the lead in the 57th minute when Brocklehurst won possession, the ball falling to Mack inside the penalty area.

He then cut back before swivelling and hitting a thunderous shot into the far corner of the net.

Road had a good rhythm to their play at this stage and looked likely to increase their lead as Rothel and McGregor both saw fine strikes from distance shave the post, but the second goal never came.

Eventually Road’s momentum disappeared as the midfield seemed to tire.

Nelson came back into the game strongly and while they may not have had the finesse of the home side, their aerial bombardment was gradually wearing Road down.

On 79 minutes, one more centre was headed out to the opposite wing where it was assumed that Higgins would float another cross in.

However, the ball sat up nicely and Higgins hit a stunning shot into the opposite corner for a goal unlikely to be surpassed this season.

In the final 10 minutes the game could still have gone either way. Moran and Chappell came close to winning it for Road, but Nelson still troubled them with their more direct approach.

Road return to Brantingham Road for an FA Cup preliminary qualifying game against Alsager on Saturday. Kick-off is at 3pm.