Colne 1 Clitheroe 1
Att. 714

Clitheroe’s hopes of a first ever play off berth were finally snuffed out by a ruthless Runcorn side at Prescot, albeit Clitheroe’s hard fought draw at Colne would not have been sufficient to keep that hope alive until the final day.

Backed by over 200 fans out of the crowd of over 700, everything was set fair for a great tussle. Clitheroe won the toss and chose to kick up the slope. This was never going to be a free flowing classic, with Colne adopting some rustic tactics in the first half, but it was the home side who went closest in the early exchanges, when a rare error by Cam Lancaster saw a home forward bear down on Chris Thompson only for him to fall over his own feet.

This sparked Clitheroe into life and Jack Burrows overlapped down the right on 8 minutes and whistled a cross across the box. Minutes later, Burton in the Colne goal made a great save from a Lancaster cross, before Thompson was quickly called upon to tip over a defensive header, as play switched ends. It took until 26 minutes for the next chance to come, as Sefton Gonzales slipped Max Cane through on goal, only for Burton to save smartly with his legs. Two minutes later, Jamie Edwards, who was the Blues most effective player all game, hared to the bye line and succeeded in getting his shot in only to see it scream over the bar.

Perhaps the best chance came on 33 minutes, when a low cross from Burrows was met by a sliding Ross Dent at the near post, only for his shot to go beyond the post. Danny Wilkins then had a great shot desperately blocked after another Burrows pass, but it was not all Clitheroe. With one minute of the half to go, Clitheroe were throwing bodies in front of the ball after a tense passage of play following a corner.

Kicking with the slope in the second half, Clitheroe found it hard to master the pace of the ball as it kicked on. Cane went on a mazy 40 yard run on 50 minutes, but could not control the ball. Moses Yoak dipped a 20 yard drive just over the bar on 56 minutes, before Wilkins could not get over the high bouncing ball as he shaped to volley in the box. Finally, on 70 minutes it was returning player manager Billy Priestley who bundled the ball home from a deep cross.

It was not a pretty way to take the lead but it was celebrated loudly by the travelling fans. On 73 minutes the lead could have been doubled as Edwards whistled a half volley narrowly past the post after a Gonzales flick, but Blues hearts were broken when minutes later, Burrows nipped the heels of a Colne forward on the apex of the box as he went away from goal and a penalty was awarded. Thompson guessed correctly, but the shot just had enough power to bounce over his hand.

The Clitheroe reaction was instantaneous, with Burrows forcing a great save before Edwards twisted and turned on the edge of the box and tested Burton to the limit. However, as news of the Runcorn goal filtered through, the intensity left the game and when the whistle blew, whilst Clitheroe had the lion’s share of chances, a draw was a reasonable reflection of the play.

Team : Chris Thompson, Jack Burrows, Moses Yoak, Richard Baker (Alex Turner), Cameron Lancaster, Billy Priestley, Ross Dent, Danny Wilkins, Sefton Gonzales (c), Max Cane, Jamie Edwards (Jake Connelly). Subs - Alex Turner, Jake Connelly. Not used - Gabriel Humphries, Joel Byrom, Will Riding.