A STUART Cole strike nine minutes into stoppage time denied Harwood a victory in this First North Western Trains League First Division clash.

Striker Mark Walsh looked to have sealed the points for the Reds when he drilled a low shot into the bottom corner five minutes from time.

But Denis Underwood's men were rocked deep into injury time when Cole picked up a loose header on the edge of the box and bent a superb effort past Gavin Bates to earn a share of the spoils.

That was harsh on Harwood after they had made all the running in the early stages.

Walsh rattled the crossbar with a 25-yard free kick and Martin Aspinall fired just wide as the visitors piled on the pressure.

But Maine Road came more into IT as the first half wore on and the crossbar twice came to Bates's rescue when he was beaten by two long range efforts.

Harwood seized back the initiative after the break but for all their possession they could not break down a resolute home defence.

Then Walsh looked to have snatched a victory when he netted from the edge of the box.

But Cole had other ideas and popped up with a late stunner.

"Maybe I'm going to have to get a stop-watch like Alex Ferguson," said Underwood.

"But it's very disappointing because we had the game won."

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