THE game between two promoted teams last time around was always going to be a close affair.

Barnoldswick had taken a hammering on the Fylde coast at the end of last season and were in the mood for revenge.

United took the upper hand early on but without really dominating. Both keepers were not fully tested until the first goal arrived on 23 minutes.

Adie Akbar, who is still finding his feet at this level, took a super pass from the inspirational man-of-the-match Paul McDowell and unleashed a fearsome low drive from the edge of the box which flew past the Norcross keeper.

The game could and possibly should have been won by Barlick during the period up to the interval.

A combination of dogged defending and poor finishing kept the home side's tally down to a solitary goal.

Both teams cancelled each other out in the second half until the equaliser came with just 15 minutes remaining.

And it was a scrappy goal for the United defenders to look back on. One which should have been cleared.

From that moment on there was only going to be one winner and it wasn't United.

But the draw was probably a fair result, and certainly, the Norcross manager was the happier of the two at the end.

Team: Walker, Ditta, Whittaker, Waugh, Barrett, Bannister, Mahmood, McDowell, Boyd, Corrigan, Akbar. Subs: French, Mallinson, Khan.

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