Eccleshill United 2 Thackley 2

On the face of it, this Northern Counties East Premier Division derby had everything it possibly could to add to the drama but the underlying trend was that it was a contest between two clubs punching under their weight.

The outcome was undisputed, a draw being a fair result - despite the visitors being reduced to ten men after their skipper was sent off, yet dominating most of the second half after the hosts turned round 2-0 up.

United's Gary Birchill opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a well-placed shot from just inside the area following a corner. Thackley's former Eccleshill goalkeeper Stuart Wilkinson then made an excellent save to prevent James Hanson doubling the home side's lead.

Just after the half-hour mark, United midfielder Andy Philp launched into a challenge on Craig Sugden. The Thackley centre back and captain retaliated and the referee showed a yellow card to Philp for the tackle and a red to Sugden for the reaction.

On the stroke of half-time, the hosts increased their lead when Scott Broughton netted a Ben Hardy cross from close range. But while they went in maybe thinking the game was over, Thackley manager John Boyle was preparing to deliver a motivational speech.

Minutes into the second period, Andy Howland - another former Eccleshill player - got on the end of an Andy King corner and headed in after Adam Johnson flicked it on.

Thackley then hatched a move that provided the equaliser in the 74th minute, with King whipping it into the area after a good midfield move and Johnson heading past Paul Morris in the United goal.

The ten men of the visitors were stretched a little towards the end as physical tiredness set in but they managed to stay mentally alert and held out for a deserved point.