It was all square at Bower Fold on Saturday afternoon after both Clitheroe and Stalybridge Celtic battled hard in an end to end fixture that ultimately finished 3-3.

It did not take long for the deadlock to be broken as Liam Tongue scored the opener inside 11 minutes with a perfectly placed free kick that beat Zac Hadi at the near post.

Clitheroe responded in the 34th minute when Josh Briggs cut inside from the left before bending his shot around Charles Monks into the top right corner.

Half-Time: Stalybridge Celtic 1-1 Clitheroe

Shortly after half time, Stalybridge regained the lead through a wonderful Reuben Jerome strike that was rifled into the back of the net from the edge of the box.

The Blues, resilient as ever, bounced back once more in the 57th minute after Briggs found substitute Lewis Trickett in the box who was able to convert his chance from a tight angle and into the far corner.

Clitheroe took the lead for the first time in the game with a lovely move that saw a Jordan Windass cross be flicked on by Trickett towards an unmarked Harry Scarborough at the back post for an easy tap in.

Just when things were starting to look up for the visitors, Cameron Lancaster got sent off in the 68th minute after receiving a second yellow for a late challenge on Jerome.

With 15 minutes left Stalybridge came agonisingly close to equalising when a low driven effort inside the area from Andrew Scarisbrick went just wide of the post.

The man advantage for the home side ultimately proved too much for Sean McConville’s side as they conceded in the 89th minute through a well placed Jack Tinning shot that found its way into the bottom corner from 25 yards.

Full-Time: Stalybridge Celtic 3-3 Clitheroe

With this result ending in a stalemate, Clitheroe remain 14th in the table. They can now turn their attention to a triple header of home fixtures, starting with Nantwich Town on February 17.