Clitheroe were desperate to put on a good show for another bumper Boxing Day crowd and to halt a poor run of form, and whilst one point was a solid outturn against the sixth placed team, it could so easily have been three.

It was a bright start for the Blues, with good half chances for Domaine Rouse, Sefton Gonzales and Danny Wilkins. However, on 20 minutes Ross Dent clattered into an opponent on the apex of the box to give away a clumsy foul. Hakan Burton set his wall well, but the resultant free kick could literally not have been placed better as it went into the top corner of the goal. Minutes later Richie Baker had a free kick of his own well saved, but Clitheroe were tending to overcomplicate and very few shots were sent goalwards.

The second half saw a rejuvenated Clitheroe side and every minute which passed saw the side grow in confidence. Clitheroe drew level on 59 minutes when neat play between Rouse and Gonzales on the edge of the box freed Matty Barlow, whose cross was headed home by a home defender under huge pressure from Dent. At this point the flood gates threatened to open. Gonzales had a shot well saved minutes later, and as Danny Caldecott freshened his attacking options, there was a huge shout for a penalty as Matty Barlow drove into the box and seemingly had his legs taken from him, but the referee waved play on. On 75 minutes, substitute Veron Parny tacked across the box and his shot whistled across the face of goal. Still the winning goal would not come but as the clock ticked down, Kidsgrove almost stole the points as Will Hall was forced to head off his line from a header from a Kidsgrove corner, before Clitheroe repeated the feat one minute later at the other end.

When the whistle went, Kidsgrove were the happier of the two teams, but Caldecott will hope this heralds the start of a new phase for the Blues.

Team: Burton, Hanson, Sloan, Baker, Lancaster, Hall, Barlow, Wilkins, Gonzales, Rouse, Dent
Subs (used) Parny, McGrath, Arnasalam
Subs (not used) Davidson, Jesus