Harrogate Town 2 Tranmere Rovers 2: Sulphurites take a point from thrilling affair
Goals either side of the interval from Jack Muldoon and Luke Armstrong saw the Sulphurites recover from a goal down to seize the ascendancy early in the second half, but the visitors levelled soon afterwards and, in the end, the spoils being shared was probably a fair outcome.
Simon Weaver had stated pre-match that this game would be his side's toughest test of the season to date, a prediction that looked bang on the money during an opening quarter-of-an-hour which the Merseysiders controlled.
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Hide AdTown needed a superb goal-line clearance from Josh Falkingham to keep Sam Foley's early strike out of the net, then a good save from Mark Oxley at his near post to thwart Josh Hawkes.
The visitors were then awarded a 31st-minute spot-kick which ex-Liverpool midfielder Jay Spearing converted confidently after Jack Diamond went to ground inside his own box and was adjudged to have fouled Josh Dacres-Cogley.
The home response was positive and Will Smith went close with a header from George Thomson's inviting right-wing free-kick, while at the other end Oxley was forced into another good stop by Hawkes.
A pull on the shirt of Smith as he attempted to get on the end of another dangerous Thomson set-piece then saw Harrogate awarded a penalty of their own and Muldoon sent Ross Doohan the wrong way as he blasted the ball into the top corner.
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Hide AdHaving got themselves back on terms, Town finished the opening period with something of a flourish, Smith drawing a reaction save from Doohan following a scramble at a corner.
And Weaver's men picked up where they left off after the interval, turning the game on its head in the 52nd minute. Alex Pattison drew an excellent one-on-one save from Doohan, but the ball looped up in the to the far post where Thomson nodded it back across goal for Armstrong to glance home a neat header.
The hosts' lead would however last just three minutes, Rovers midfielder Kieran Morris heading in from close range after Elliot Nevitt got on the end of a cross from the right and rattled the woodwork.
Both sides engineered some promising openings as the contest opened up during the closing stages, though clear-cut chances were at a premium, and a Callum McManaman shot which clipped the Harrogate cross-bar was as close as either team came to grabbing a winner.
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Hide AdHarrogate Town: Oxley; Fallowfield, Smith, Burrell, Page (Sheron 83); Thomson, Falkingham, Pattison, Diamond; Armstrong, Muldoon. Unused substitutes: Cracknell, Martin, Orsi, Kerry, Power.
Tranmere Rovers: Doohan; Dacres-Cogley, Davies, Clarke, MacDonald ; McManaman, Morris, Spearing, Foley, Hawkes (Feeney 62); Nevitt. Unused substitutes: Murphy, Knight-Percival, Watson, Maynard, Duffy, O’Connor.
Referee: D Bourne (Notts).