WARRINGTON Town were pegged back to a draw by 10-man Whitby Town at Cantilever Park on Tuesday evening.
Aaron Braithwaite’s late leveller ensured the Yorkshiremen left with a point despite playing most of the game with 10 men after Malik Dijksteel’s first-half red card for a second yellow card.
The sending-off came shortly after the visitors had taken the lead thanks to Lewis Hawkins’ looped effort.
Matty McDonald’s double had put Town on course for victory – he levelled immediately after Dijksteel’s sending-off before prodding home his second goal on the hour mark.
Yellows then squandered several chances to put the game to bed before Braithwaite lashed home a loose ball after the hosts had failed to clear.
"We’ve played really, really well – outstandingly in fact in the second half," Town boss Mark Beesley said.
"We’ve played how you have to to beat 10 men but it doesn’t mean anything if you can’t do that last bit and stick the ball in the back of the net.
"We had 15 shots on target in the second half – I don’t really know what to say because that’s the best we’ve been in front of goal without scoring.
"We’ve hit the bar twice, we’ve hit the post twice, we’ve missed one-on-ones and open goals – we can’t do much more other than put the ball in the net.
"We’ve given a silly goal away which is something I thought we’d stopped.
"I think they had three crosses in the second half, we’ve panicked and kicked it at each other when composure was needed.
"It feels like a big kick in the stomach."
Read sports reporter Matt Turner's verdict below
IN football, some draws feel like victories and others resemble defeats.
Warrington Town have had too many of both kinds already this season, but this one falls squarely into the “losing draw” category.
Against a side playing the majority of the game with 10 men and leading with five minutes to go, only three points would have been sufficient.
The fact they left with just one can be put solely down to their failure to take one of a multitude of chances to kill the game off.
When Matty McDonald prodded them ahead on the hour mark, they had the perfect platform to make it back-to-back victories and as it turned out, give them a cushion in third place.
Whitby were indebted to goalkeeper Shane Bland – a top performer at this level for many years – for making several superb saves to keep them in the contest but deserve credit for not going completely into their shell despite Malik Dijksteel’s red card.
When the forward was dismissed, they were 1-0 up and their energetic style and solid organisation was making life incredibly difficult for Town.
In 30 seconds though, things changed – Dijksteel was given his marching orders for the second of two needless bookings, McDonald cleverly headed home the resulting free kick and everything seemed set up for a Town victory.
Bland did not read the script and aided by the woodwork on occasion – most memorably Stefan Mols heading against the post with the game’s final action – as well as the obdurate Whitby rearguard in front of him.
For the hosts, this was the ultimate reminder that if they cannot put their foot to the opposition’s throats, they remain vulnerable.
When Aaron Braithwaite’s late leveller hit the net, you could feel the life drain from those in yellow. As Mark Beesley said post-match, it was a real kick in the stomach.
With nine games to go and some huge face-offs coming up, however, it is one they need to recover from quickly.
Town: Thompson, Walker (White), Duggan (Cole), Hannigan, Gumbs, McDonald, Buckley-Ricketts, Williams, Buckley (Mols), Dixon, Duffy. Subs not used: Warren, Harris
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