Hanley Town 1 Clitheroe 1

Clitheroe left the Potteries frustrated after carving out many clear opportunities but just not finding the quality finish to put the game out of reach,

With debutant Jacob Hanson starting the game at right back, Clitheroe set their stall out from the outset and dominated most of the first half. On a surprisingly firm surface, Clitheroe forced the pace. On 8 minutes, Ross Dent forced a smart saved after he received a flick on from Sefton Gonzales, before 2 minutes later, Danny Wilkins drove a fierce shot just wide. On 15 minutes, the lively Reece Webb-Foster picked up another flick from a throw in and forced a superb save from his volley.

On 19 minutes, the Hanley play manager dwelt too long on the ball, and it took all his strength to hold off the marauding Gonzales from dispossessing him. Abs Obasoto was finding sporadic joy on the flank, but he always found himself with defenders giving him no space at all or simply doubling up. In a rare foray for the home team on 28 minutes, poor communication between Chris Thompson and one of his defenders saw the ball bounce agonisingly over the bar.

For a while, Clitheroe efforts were reduced to half chances, with Hanley content to clear the ball wildly and hope for chances on the break. On 43 minutes, Gonzales had the ball in the net after he received a pass from Webb-Foster, but as he spun to shoot home, he was controversially deemed to be in an offside position. However, there was no doubt two minutes later, when after a melee on the half way line distracted many players, Gonzales sprang the offside trap and slotted home with aplomb.

The second half was more even, and even though Clitheroe had three or four superb long distance runs at goal, all of them faltered at the final pass. On 62 minutes, Hanley had some reward for their increasingly fluent play and they passed and moved down the pitch and scored a neat goal to draw level. As the clock ticked down, both sides were looking for the three points.

Richie Baker had a shot from the edge of the box superbly saved on 78 minutes, before minutes later Darren Holden fired his shot over after great approach play. Hanley chanced their arm at the other end with work down the right flank, but when the whistle went, the scoreline felt like a fair reflection of the game.

Team: Chris Thompson, Jacob Hanson, Darren Holden, Richard Baker, Lee Pugh, Billy Priestley, Reece Webb-Foster (Owen Devonport), Ross Dent (c) (Max Cane), Sefton Gonzales, Danny Wilkins, Abimbola Obasoto. Subs - Owen Devonport, Max Cane. Not used - Cameron Lancaster, Jack Burrows, Charlie Russell.