GOALKEEPER Dan Atherton scored a dramatic injury-time equaliser to rescue a point for Warrington Town at home to Farsley Celtic.
Atherton rose highest to nod Sean Williams’ corner goalwards and it bounced in off a defender to finally break the resolve of the visitors, who had stood firm to a barrage of attacks in the final quarter of an hour.
The 1-1 draw extends their unbeaten run to six.
Manager Mark Beesley named an unchanged starting line-up from the 4-1 win at Bishop’s Stortford at the weekend against the Yorkshiremen, who had lost 4-1 at home to Brackley Town in their last outing.
On a misty autumn night at Cantilever Park, it took a while for the game to get going and it was 26 minutes until the first chance.
Isaac Buckley-Ricketts brilliantly brought down Mitch Duggan’s ball up the line, and fired a shot low that was pushed over the bar by the excellent Zan-Luk Leban.
Farsley took the lead with their first chance on 35 minutes and it came from a long throw. George Smith’s delivery was flicked on at the near post and player-manager Clayton Donaldson, last season’s Northern Premier League top goalscorer, guided a header in to the far corner.
The Yellows immediately hunted a response, Josh Amis heading wide from a Dec Walker cross, and they were then awarded a penalty when Buckley-Ricketts was dragged down in the box.
Up stepped Bohan Dixon, but his spot kick was held by Leban and the score was 1-0 at half time.
Farsley had a couple of half chances in the early stages of the second half but gradually the Yellows took control of the game and in the last 25 minutes, they laid siege at the Farsley goal.
Buckley-Ricketts poked wide from Dixon’s cross and substitute Jordan Buckley dragged a shot right across the face of goal.
Connor Woods hit a shot over the bar before a couple of chances came down the right channel.
First, Amis should have squared for Buckley in front of goal, and then when Buckley did get a decent delivery in from Aaron Bennett, he couldn’t get the right connection to divert the ball home.
Buckley latched on to an Amis flick on and was denied by fine goalkeeper by Leban at his near post.
Deep in to five minutes of injury time it looked like the Yellows were falling to defeat, until Buckley-Ricketts’ run forced a corner and from a pinpoint Williams’ delivery, Atherton guided the ball home via a touch from Rudy Misambo to send the home crowd wild.
Warrington Town: Atherton, Walker (White), Wisdom, Clarke, Duggan, Williams, Dixon, Woods (Bennett), Grivosti (Buckley), Buckley-Ricketts, Amis. Unused subs: Goudie, Gill.
Farsley Celtic: Leban, O’Brien, Smith, Atkinson, Misambo, Tunchatchawan, Donaldson, Watson, Forshaw, Branson, Chapman (Carroll). Unused subs: Allan, Wilson.
