Cheadle Town 3-3 Eccleshall
For the second time in the space of a week, commanding a 3-1 lead at the 83rd minute in this fixture wasn't enough to win the match.
It was Eccleshall on this occasion that provided the comeback, somewhat healing the wounds we opened when we staged a similar escape act at Pershall Park last week.
First blood went to us this time around, netting after just six minutes after a neat move in and around the edge of the area set Mike Sherrington free to comfortably roll home from close range.
Callum Collinson then had a free-kick tipped over the bar before Rick Whyatt was a matter of inches away from connecting to a ball in from the right.
On the half-hour Eccleshall slowly started to get themselves a foothold in the match and were level on the 36th minute.
A deflected shot had gone wide and from the resulting corner, Eccleshall's Wakefield stooped low from close range to bullet home a header.
The visitors' tails were up and it then took a superb last-minute challenge from Joe Nield to prevent them taking the lead just two minutes later.
We started the second half brightly - Jake Ambrose somehow failing to convert from close range after Rick Whyatt had drilled the ball into the box - but then faded badly, allowing Eccleshall two free headers in quick succession which they thankfully failed to convert.
Chris Sherrington was brought on as part of a double substitution on the hour mark and it was his somewhat fortunate goal on the 66th minute that kick-started us back to life; whether he meant his cross from the left to actually sail in over the keeper's head is up for debate!
Both Whyatt and Cotton failed to get onto the end of a teasing Joe Nield cross before Rick's looping header on 70 minutes was cleared just in time.
With ten minutes of the match remaining, we extended our lead.
Some superb work by James Dunn on the right saw him thread a ball through for Rick Whyatt who checked, turned inside and unleashed a vicious drive down low to the keeper's left.
Three minutes later and Eccleshall were back in the match. A free-kick from just outside the area bobbled awkwardly in front of Danny Whiting as he was going down to gather it, rebounding back into the air just at the right height for an alert Thomas Wakefield to nod home.
On 87 minutes a great combination between Whyatt and Cotton saw the latter in on the left but his fierce shot was beaten out by the keeper.
With stoppage time coming to an end, Eccleshll rolled their final dice and came up with a six.
A long throw-in from inside our area was knocked on for Daniel Needham to latch onto just outside the area. With an oncoming Danny Whiting to close the angle, the "knock it over him" option was the only one he had if he was going to score. Unfortunately for us he kept a cool enough head to do just that and ensure that, with what was the last kick of the match, Eccleshall went back down the M6 with a point tucked under their arms.
We're back on the road this Thursday evening as we travel to Bacup Borough.
TEAM: Whiting, Nield, McLaughlin, Delaney (Shaw), Dunn, Harrison, M Sherrington (Cotton), Wood, Ambrose, Whyatt, Collinson (C Sherrington). SUBS: Cotton, C Sherrington, Shaw, Piggott (gk)
