Colne 4 Alsager Town 3

Two penalty saves by Colne keeper Chris Thompson sparked a dramatic late comeback that saw the Reds snatch all three points in a seven-goal thriller at the XLCR Stadium.

Colne got off to a great start and took the lead after only three minutes when Ted Cockett turned in a low cross from Mark Coyne at the near post. But Alsager came back strongly and levelled the scores on 14 minutes when Jed Davies saw his shot deflected past Thompson.

The Reds regained the lead after 35 minutes when Coyne scored with a cool finish after breaking clear of the visitors defence. But five minutes later, Colne had a let off when Chris Smith saw his shot come back off the post in a one-on-one with Thompson.

In the first minute of the second half Alsager were awarded a penalty but Thompson dived to his left to save Smith’s spot kick. But the visitors levelled the scores five minutes later when Smith scored an opportunist goal.

After 64 minutes, Alsager took the lead when Dean Smith fired in from a half clearance.

On 87 minutes, the visitors were awarded their second penalty but again Thompson dived to his left to hold on to the ball from Chris Smith’s spot kick and then released the ball quickly and Jason Hart raced away and fired home to equalise for Colne at 3-3.

And in the fifth minute of stoppage time, Jimmy Crorken fired home a low shot for Colne’s fourth goal just before the final whistle.