Dean Pinnington’s second half strike secured a 1-1 draw on a frustrating afternoon away at Colne.
After back-to-back defeats the Ravens went to Lancashire looking to get back on track with a win.
Both sides saw plenty of the ball early on, with Jefferson Goncalves de Abreu providing the biggest threat for Colne down their left.
His early crosses were well dealt with by the central pairing of Al Maitland and Jack McVey, while the contest between him and Ronan McDonnell, which the latter would eventually get the better of, proving to be a key battle in the early stages.
The first real opening of the game would come just after the half hour mark as de Abreu’s cross picked out Keaton Mulvey, but his header was straight at Killey.
The Ravens felt aggrieved not to have the lead at the break as Callum Sherry’s cross to Sean Doyle was knocked down to Adam Adebiyi before his effort was well saved.
From the trio of corners that followed, Kyle Watson’s third deceived everyone and went straight in, only for referee Aron Connolly to rule it out claiming he’d seen a push in the middle, despite any real protest from the home side.
The second half saw the home side take the lead through Mulvey as he was left unmarked from a corner, his header took a deflection on the way past Killey to make it 1-0.
That goal seemed to spark a new energy in the Ravens, with Doyle seeing his effort blocked as Whitley and Pinnington caused issues for the home side.
All photos Graham Smith.
Pinnington would get the equaliser, his first of the season, as Doyle brought down a long ball, from there Baines and Whitley did well to keep possession in the middle, finding the winger who beat his man and fired into the near corner, with Colne’s Ayrton Best unable to keep it out.
The introduction of Charlie Higgins and Danny Gerrard brought a new emphasis to the Ravens’ attack, with both going close in their effort to find a winner.
As Higgins tormented the Colne back line, Gerrard would go the closest as Pinnington’s flick set him in, but he saw his effort hit the bar.
With the clock on 85 minutes, Higgins’ outrageous skill saw him bring the ball down and advance on goal, but his dinked effort dropped just wide.
Having made such an impact, Higgins was sent for an early shower by referee Connolly for an alleged stamp on the Colne right back, leaving the Ravens down to 10 for the final moments.
Despite that, the last real chance would come way of Paul Jones’ side as substitute Ben Wosser chased down a flick on, he did enough to get it past Best, with the Colne keeper forced to bring him down ensuring both sides ended the game with 10 men.
The Ravens were unable to capitalise on the free kick that followed as Pinnginton drove it straight into the wall, ensuring the game would end 1-1.
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