MOSSLEY 1 DARWEN 1

THE visitors came away from Mossley with a well-earned point after taming their physically strong opponents for the second time in 10 days.

Delighted manager Ian McGarry - who earlier in the week was reported as saying that his pet parrot, Korky, helped him pick the team - insisted one point was the least his side deserved from the fixture.

The young Anchor men refused to play second fiddle and quietened the home crowd with their battling performance.

Mossley's 1-0 half-time lead came from a corner when Bernie Hughes poked the ball home from close range.

In the second period Darwen hit the bar and had several goal-bound efforts cleared off the line.

But just when McGarry could have been thinking it was one of those days, Steve Wilkes found Mark Walsh who beat a defender, drew the keeper and buried the ball with five minutes remaining.

Youngsters Mark Allan and Louis Goldring made their debuts for Darwen and keeper John Parrot - no relation to Korky - played his first match of the season.

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