WARRINGTON Rylands produced an impressive comeback to draw 3–3 at Leek Town on Tuesday evening after finding themselves two goals behind at half-time.
Leek’s lowly 17th-place position in the NPL Premier Division is not indicative of their ability, and they soon demonstrated just how good they are on the 3G pitch at The F. Ball Community Stadium.
Rylands began the match by using their pace to try to break through the Leek defensive line. However, the home side were not only able to match Warrington’s speed, but could also quickly turn defence into attack.
Seven minutes into the game, a promising Rylands attack saw Joe Riley beat Yusuf Mersin, only for his shot to rebound off the crossbar and back into play.
At the other end, Luke Pilling produced an incredible save with his feet as Leek broke through on goal.
However, a minute later Pilling was finally beaten when Alex Hurst put the home side ahead.
Rylands responded positively, and Jawad Jebrin produced a stunning strike to score his first goal for the club and level the match.
Neither team was able to take complete control, creating an entertaining, end-to-end contest with both sides producing spells of creative and accurate football.
Just when it looked as though the teams would go into the break level, Leek pressed forward once again and Pilling was on hand to make another wonderful save.
Pilling’s luck finally ran out as half-time approached when his clearance struck the onrushing Hurst and rebounded into the net, leaving the travelling supporters aghast.
Deep into injury time, Connor Heath made matters even worse for Rylands when he beat Pilling to put Leek 3–1 ahead.
The half-time break proved essential for Warrington, giving them the opportunity to reset.
Early in the second half, pressure from Rylands resulted in a corner. A well-worked set-piece eventually came back to Hardcastle, who fired a low cross into a crowded penalty area. The ball was deflected past Mersin and into the net to reduce the deficit.
Shortly afterwards, Harrison Wood added to his goal tally to level the score once again.
For the remainder of the match, both sides battled for the winning goal and the atmosphere became increasingly fractious. In the end, however, neither could find the decisive breakthrough and the points were shared.
The draw sees Warrington move into a play-off position, but their next opponents will provide a major test. They make the long journey to League leaders Cleethorpes on Saturday. Cleethorpes have lost just one match this season and promise to be worthy opponents.
Wood shoots and scores – Picture John Hopkins
