A 66th minute strike by James Dwyer was enough to secure the point good enough to take Prestwich Heys into the top four of the North West Counties Division One North here at a rainy ARK Fleetech Stadium Chadderton on Saturday.
Heys were playing for the first time since the last victory on 31 October versus Garstang and were looking to continue the winning start of three wins and one defeat from just the four games played in this disrupted season due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The visitors came into this one with some injuries to key players as midfielder Brad Sixsmith and wingers Jamie Hill and Nial Sultan were all missing from the squad but despite this manager Matt Barnes named a strong side and they started quickly with a 20-yard shot from James Dwyer in the second minute which was easily collected by Chadderton keeper Harrison Fleet followed shortly after by striker Jack Coop finding his lob over the keeper just going over the bar.
After an early burst from the away side Chadderton settled and were closing down the midfield quickly and trying press onto the Heys back four and were rewarded on 14 minutes when the ball came out on the right to Arron Scholes who blasted a 25-yard shot which flew into the top left of Heys keeper Russell Sunders goal leaving him absolutely no chance. It was a goal onlooking father Paul would have been proud of himself back in the day.
The home side then continued to be on top of the midfield battle until the 30th minute when a great through ball from defender Scott Cullen put midfielder Alfie Belcher through but a superbly timed tackle from Chadderton captain Jordan Schofield on the edge of the box kept him at bay as he cleared the ball to safety.
Heys were now starting to assert themselves more both in the middle and wide on the left with wing back Nathan Emery using his pace to try and get behind the Chadderton defence and make things happen the visitors were getting on top and had further chances before the break with commanding centre half Anthony Potts, heading just wide from a corner and midfielder Max White shooting over the bar from just outside the box the visitors were showing the signs they could turn this around in the second half.
So, 1-0 to the home side at the break and the teams re-emerged for the second half in much worse conditions than the first as the weather deteriorated from the kick off with heavy rain and increasingly windy conditions it felt non-league football was most definitely back at its best.
Heys wasted no time getting going as just a minute in some great work by Max White found Jamie Roe on the left who shot low and hard from 18 yards just wide of Fleet's right-hand post and wide to safety.
The visitors were already on the front foot in the driving rain when in the 53rd minute Heys manager Matt Barnes made a substitution and a tactical change bringing on winger Will Shawcross to replace full back Scott Cullen and moving Joe Rothwell to the full back position to gain more pace down the left flank.
Further pressure from Heys on 61 minutes when a great through ball from Jack Coop put Alfie Belcher through one on one with the keeper but a moments indecision from the young midfielder enabled the keeper Harrison Fleet to block his shot.
Shortly after and while Heys were on top Chadderton came back with a reminder they weren't done with substitute and former Heys man Cory Knight dragging a shot wide of Russ Saunders left hand post but in the 66th minute Heys were level when midfielder James Dwyer who was having an excellent second half drove through the middle and slotted past the oncoming keeper Fleet for a well-deserved equaliser and set this game up for an exciting finale.
Heys boss Matt Barnes had stated in the week that during the latest season suspension he'd had each player doing a personal training regime and this clearly was paying off as in rapidly deteriorating conditions the visitors were clearly finishing the stronger against a tiring Chadderton side who had put in a massive shift themselves in this contest.
Alfie Belcher had a couple of chances bringing a save from the home keeper in the 69th minute after smashing a shot in from the edge of the box and then dragging a 20-yard shot wide in the 83rd minute continuing the Heys onslaught.
In between this an Arron Scholes header brought a brilliant save out of Heys keeper Russ Saunders diving to his right only to discover the linesman had flagged for offside.
With the rain driving and the clock running down it was a frantic final few minute with Heys piling on the pressure James Dwyer brought out a superb save from Harrison Fleet tipping his shot over the bar and from the resulting corner the post is rattled.
Shortly after Jack Coop is brought down in the box, but with the Heys contingent in this 132-crowd baying for a penalty the referee quickly waved all appeals and the ball is cleared.
Shortly after in the dying moments Coop did have the ball in the net but the linesman correctly gave offside and that was to be the final action of the afternoon and so 1-1 it finished.
The visitors will make the short trip back to Prestwich knowing they had come out of a tough game with a point,but after being resilient at the back and inventive in the final third creating good chances they will reflect it may have been more,but that said Heys are in the top four which is where they wanted to be by Christmas.
