Colne earned a point on Merseyside with a well deserved draw at Prescot Cables on Saturday. The Reds reshuffled side with new signing midfielder Alex Doyle on show matched their opponents all the way in an end-to-end encounter.
Colne made a good start with plenty of possession and enterprising attacking play and the Reds came close to an opening goal after ten minutes when Owen Watkinson’s cross from the right wing found Lucas Weaver and his 20 yard shot brought a great save from Cables keeper Mitchell Allen to turn the ball over the crossbar.
Colne continued to build good attacks with Watkinson and Danny Kyobe opening up the home defence on the right wing and Weaver using his pace on the left to stretch the Cables rearguard where ex-Red Tom Dean was prominent in the air. And Craig Carney brought another save from the Cables keeper with his shot from the edge of the area after 23 minutes as Colne forced a series of free kicks in good positions to threaten the home goal.
As the second half began, Prescot pushed forward to test the Colne defence and Luke Stowe did well to clear the ball off the toes of Tony Donaldson as a diagonal cross found him in the Colne penalty area.
But the Reds were quick on the counterattack as Harry Winstanley, Ellis Wallbank and Glenn Steel worked hard at the back and Doyle and Matty Kardacz linked well in midfield to turn defence into attack on many occasions.
A free kick by Watkinson on the hour was deflected wide for a corner off a Cables defender and the resulting cross was scrambled away under pressure by the home defence. And after 75 minutes, Weaver and Watkinson combined to work a shooting position and Watkinson’s shot was parried by the keeper before Carney’s follow-up was blocked by a defender in the six yard box.
In the closing stages, Prescot pushed forward and the Colne defence came under pressure. With three minutes left, Charlie Glennon burst into the Reds penalty area with a run on goal but Hakan Burton made a great save to block his shot and ensure his clean sheet.
The single point is a step nearer safety for the Reds and this performance provides a cause for optimism in the coming weeks.
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