Clitheroe fought back from two goals down to beat Hanley Town 3-2 in a dramatic away win, overcoming some questionable officiating and a two-goal deficit with an unbelievable late winner.

Clitheroe opened the game looking strong, particularly finding joy through long balls played over the top while managing to keep the home side quiet. The first real chance of the game came from Jordan Windass playing Jordan Carroll in behind, who tried to lift it over the keeper, though his effort was saved. Clitheroe thought they had taken the lead not long after, as a great cross from Windass was met by Jason Gilchrist, whose touch guided it onto the crossbar before it bounced down for Touray to head in, but the flag was up for offside and the goal wouldn’t count. Plenty of space down both sides was giving Rio Alston and Nathan Sandison room to attack the Hanley Town defence, and although Clitheroe couldn't quite get shots away, they continued to look the more positive side in creating chances. Another good delivery from Windass, this time from a free kick, found Gilchrist on the penalty spot, and his header was narrowly tipped over the bar by a good save from the goalkeeper.

The game became increasingly end to end from there, with Hanley Town yet to fashion a genuine chance of their own, their best efforts coming from long throws that didn't lead to much. Similarly, Clitheroe continued to have some chances but nothing close to a goal, with both sides looking hesitant in attack when getting opportunities. Alston was then played in behind into space by Freddie Machell, only to be shoved to the ground with the defender in his back, and what looked a blatant penalty was waved away by the referee, prompting huge appeals from the Clitheroe bench. This was to be the first of many controversial decisions by the referee, denying Clitheroe the opportunity to take the lead through what seemed like an obvious penalty.

Hanley Town took the lead soon after through Callum Middleton, however there was what seemed to be an obvious handball that allowed the ball to drop to his feet before scoring, but again the referee waved away the appeals and the goal was allowed to stand. The manager Sean McConville was shown a yellow card for dissent in the aftermath of the goal, with another poor decision from the referee now having made a big impact on the game. In the last seconds, Sandison drove into space with some good footwork, going past a couple of defenders before cutting inside to get a shot away, but he could only drag his effort wide of the target. It was an unfortunate first half for Clitheroe, on the receiving end of some questionable officiating and left trailing at the break, needing a big response in the second half to turn things around.

Half Time: Hanley Town 1-0 Clitheroe FC

However, this didn’t seem likely as the home side doubled their lead early in the second half through a miscommunication between the Clitheroe defenders, who left the ball for one another before a Callum Middleton again nipped in behind to tap it home. Clitheroe struggled to create much in the opening stages of the second half, desperately needing a goal soon to have any chance at getting back into the game. Not long after though, Clitheroe did pull one back after Touray won a free kick around 25 yards from goal, giving Windass the chance to put in a dangerous delivery. He did just that, finding Gilchrist's head, who barely touched it to glance it into the far post to pull one back for the blues. Clitheroe then made a triple change, bringing on Harry Scarborough, Demi Rhami, and Jackson Shorrocks in place of Alston, Machell, and Maine Walder, putting all the attackers they had onto the pitch as they pushed for an equaliser.

Hanley Town's approach to the closing stages became obvious from here, with almost their entire side dropping behind the ball in an effort to protect their lead. They made a substitution of their own, with Lucas Sant replacing Lewis Porter, doing the opposite of Clitheroe and bringing on their defenders to try keep hold of the lead. Scarborough produced a piece of good skill to go past a defender before playing in Rhami, whose effort was blocked and went out for a corner. Hanley made a further change, bringing on Jack Van Der Laan for Fin Pattison. Rhami then burst down the left-hand side and delivered a great ball to Scarborough at the front post, but his header narrowly went wide of the target, with Clitheroe using the momentum they had gathered since their goal to push hard for an equaliser.

The game flared up once again when a great ball over the top from Brad Ditch put Gilchrist through on goal, only for him to be dragged down by Joe Minshall, giving Clitheroe a penalty and reducing the home side to ten men. The referee had no choice but to show the defender a red card, giving Clitheroe a huge opportunity to regain control of the game and push for a win. Clitheroe made no mistake from the spot, Gilchrist stepping up to smash it down the middle, levelling the game, and giving the blues real hope of getting a result from a game that looked lost not long after half time. From that point on, Clitheroe took complete control of the second half, reducing any Hanley chances to a minimum as they pushed for a late winner. With almost everyone forward for a free kick on the halfway line, Windass delivered a great ball into the box, and Touray met it on the spin with a volley that was well saved by the goalkeeper.

With only two minutes left to play, one of the substitutions stepped up to produce the moment that would decide the game. Rhami worked back to win the ball before driving down the left side with plenty of space in front of him, and rather than looking to cross, he went alone and wrapped a stunning effort into the far top corner to give Clitheroe a dramatic late lead. Max Harrison was brought on for Sandison as Clitheroe looked to see out the remainder of the game. Rhami found space again soon after, running at his defender before looking for a cross this time, and it did find Gilchrist, but he couldn’t get enough of a touch on it and it bounced wide. Holding onto this lead with Hanley Town throwing everything at them, Clitheroe produced an incredible defensive display, especially shown through Windass diving in to block a cross in the last seconds that could’ve easily been a goal for Hanley Town.

An incredible comeback from Clitheroe, overcoming two goals and some poor officiating to claim yet another dramatic late win, with Rhami's incredible strike being the decider.

Full Time: Hanley Town 2-3 Clitheroe FC

- Charlie Barnes