GOALKEEPER Dan Atherton was the unlikely hero for Warrington Town as he rescued a dramatic draw against Farsley Celtic.
With Yellows trailing 1-0 in the dying seconds, Atherton was sent up for a corner and his header found the back of the net via a deflection to spark wild scenes of celebration.
Town’s four-match unbeaten run in the National League North had looked in grave jeopardy as they trailed through Clayton Donaldson’s headed goal 10 minutes before half-time.
Even so, Mark Beesley’s men had a golden chance to level shortly afterwards when Isaac Buckley-Ricketts was hauled down in the box, but Bohan Dixon saw his penalty saved by Farsley stopper Zan-Luk Leban.
> Read manager Mark Beesley's post-match reaction here
Read Matt Turner's verdict on the 1-1 draw here
NOBODY would have called this ending.
With Warrington Town’s unbeaten sequence looking in the gravest of danger, they made one final desperate roll of the dice.
Fortunately for them, it came up with a lucky seven. They needed a hero and in the shape of goalkeeper Dan Atherton, they found one in the unlikeliest of places.
His header from Sean Williams’ corner got a hefty deflection off Farsley Celtic defender Rudy Misambo on its way into the net, but was just sneaking on target enough for him to claim a goal to go with his brace of penalty saves in recent weeks.
Having conceded four spot kicks in their past two games, Town had penalty trouble of a different kind this time around as Bohan Dixon saw his effort from 12 yards saved by on-loan Everton keeper Zan-Luk Leban.
That was a moment that typified the frustration the hosts endured as they looked set to go down to their visitors’ only effort on target in the entire game – crafty forward Clayton Donaldson’s clever header after a long throw was flicked into his path.
From that moment, it became clear why the Yorkshiremen brought with them the National League North’s second-best away record as they slipped into a firmly organised shape that Town rarely looked like unpicking.
Only late on when things started to get increasingly frantic did the chances start to come for the hosts and as more and more went begging, you wondered whether or not it was going to be another one of those nights for Mark Beesley’s men.
What they have shown on so many occasions both this season and beyond, however, is that they do not know when they are beaten.
Their “never say die” attitude and togetherness has already got them out of several scrapes this season and will no doubt do so again as time goes on.
So while they could have been staring at would have been a highly annoying loss, they emerge from a testing fixture against seasoned travellers with something to show for their efforts.
Warrington Town: Atherton, Walker (White), Woods (Bennett), Williams, Amis, Dixon, Buckley-Ricketts, Duggan, Wisdom, Grivosti (Buckley), Clarke. Subs not used: Goudie, Gill
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here