City of Liverpool fought back from two goals down to secure a point against Leek Town on Saturday afternoon, and could have taken all three points late on at the Berry Street Garage stadium.
Skipper Danny Mitchley’s towering header six minutes from time brought the Purps back level after an excellent fight back, ensuring that Paul McNally’s side came away with the very least they deserved.
Macca handed a recall to left back Jack Hont after suspension caused him to miss Wednesday’s victory at Avro, whilst there was also a place on the bench for new signing Harry Cannon-Noren.
The Purps made a bright start to the game in an opening which saw Josh Quarless denied an excellent long range strike by a good save from Leek Town goalkeeper Joe O’Shaughnessy.
Skipper Danny Mitchley also saw a rasping effort deflected narrowly wide after a brilliant turn on the edge of the area.
Paul McNally will have been pleased with the manner in which his side worked openings on the edge of the area, which also saw the excellent Callum Schorah fire over from distance.
The visitors went ahead against the run of play after 17 minutes when Xenon Bahula was adjudged to have fouled Tom Scully as the Purps winger blocked a shot on the edge of the area.
Left back Louis Keenan fired a low free kick under the wall and beyond the reach of Calvin Hare.
They made it two when a mistake at the back saw towering forward Aaron Opoku, the scurge of the Purps in last season’s fixture at Harrison Park, with a clean route to goal.
Opoku confidently gathered the ball before firing a composed finish beyond Hare and into the net.
The Purps rallied and grabbed a goal back in spectacular fashion right on the stoke of half time, as they once again worked a nice opening on the edge of Leek Town’s box.
Xenon Bahula retained the ball high up the pitch with some tidy footwork before cutting back for Josh Quarless who curled his third worldy of the season beyond the desperate dive of O’Shaughnessy and into the net.
HALF TIME: City of Liverpool 1-2 Leek Town
The Purps made a change at the break with Simon Wills being replaced by Kenny Strickland, and it was the home side who were very much on the front foot right from the first whistle of the half.
A nice move saw a deep ball evade everyone in the Leek Town box and find Mike Grogan lurking after a set piece was half cleared, but the defender was leaning back and a good chance flew high and wide of O’Shaughnessy’s goal.
At the other end the Purps were handed a double let off when Leek Town squandered opportunities to put the game to bed.
Firstly a deep cross saw Tom Scully in acres of space at the back post, but the midfielder sliced horribly wide with the goal at his mercy.
Next up a driving run from Opoku saw the forward skip past Grogan and Miley, whilst his curling effort beat the dive of Hare it cannoned away to safety of the post.
The Purps grew in confidence after the missed chances from Leek and were firmly camped in the visitors half for long spells of the latter stages of the match.
Paul McNally’s side had a golden opportunity to equalise when firstly Louis Keenan appeared to handle a ball in the box, but the ref waved play on and it broke for Harry Cannon-Noren but his effort was blocked near to the line.
Cannon-Noren was alive to the loose ball and it found it’s way to an off-balance Ismail Sonko but his tame effort was hacked off the line.
It would be far from City of Liverpool’s last chance to restore parity, however, and the home side would be on level terms within a minute.
A glorious free kick from the left from Kenny Strickland caused all kinds of problems for the Leek Town backline and was met by a towering header from Danny Mitchley which left O’Shaughnessy with no chance.
Mitchley wheeled away in delight at his first of the season, celebrating with his delighted supporters behind the goal.
The game became a frantic, end-to-end affair in the closing moments and Leek Town’s Oliver Harrison nodded wide at the back post when it looked for all the world that he was about to put the visitors back in front.
There would still be one more massive opportunity for City of Liverpool to complete a brilliant turnaround, too.
A massive kick from the hands of Calvin Hare launched the Purps on a counterattack and Leek Town were all at sea at the back, leaving Mitchley racing one-on-one with O’Shaugnessy.
The goalkeeper raced out and flapped an unconvincing punch into the path of Quarless who could only divert an effort he had to rush onto the roof of the empty net.
Parity was the very least City of Liverpool deserved and the referee blew for full time ensuring both sides took a share of the spoils after a hugely entertaining game.
FULL TIME: City of Liverpool 2-2 Leek Town
CITY OF LIVERPOOL: Calvin Hare, Mike Simpson, Jack Hont, Anthony Miley, Mike Grogan, Simon Wills (Kenny Strickland 46′), Callum Schorah, Max Allen (Harry Cannon-Noren 75′), Danny Mitchley (c), Josh Quarless, Xenon Bahula (Ismail Sonko 64′).
Subs not used: Nick Ryan, Aaron Fleming.
MAN OF THE MATCH:
Mike Simpson put in a real shift at right back to nullify the threat of Leek Town’s wingers and moved into midfield during the second half where he continued to impress.
Another excellent performance from Mike saw him pick up the supporters MOTM vote.
MANAGER’S INTERVIEW:
Macca praised the resilience of his side to come back from two goals down against a really strong opponent, and felt as though the Purps were good value for all three points.
He also praised the home support and looked ahead to another tough match as we take the trip to Vauxhall Motors on Monday afternoon.
NEXT UP:
The Purps conclude a busy bank holiday weekend as we make a return to Vauxhall Sports Club on Monday afternoon.
Kick off is 3pm and we’re hoping for a strong travelling contingent to give Macca and the lads our support.
