A BRACE from debutant Nick Wright earned Worcester City a 2-2 draw in their opening Vanarama Conference North match against Stalybridge Celtic today (Saturday).
The forward, who only signed for the club yesterday (Friday), twice drew the Blue and Whites level after Liam Dickenson and then Paul Ennis had put Stalybridge in front.
Returning striker Mike Symons hit the post late on as City pushed for a winner, but it wasn’t to be and both teams settled for a point.
A lively opening to the game saw George Williams have the first sighting of goal after just three minutes but City’s player of the year fizzed his effort over the bar from 25-yards.
Former Peterborough United striker Dickenson was presented with a half chance two minutes later when his drilled strike was kept out by the combined effort of Wayne Thomas and Graham Hutchison before it rebounded off the forward and bounced wide.
The deadlock was broken after 27 minutes when Jack Truelove threaded a long ball to Dickenson who sprung the Blue and Whites offside trap to run in on goal and coolly slot the ball past Nathan Vaughan.
Stalybridge’s lead lasted just four minutes and it was Wright who got the Aggborough faithful on their feet as he smashed home from two yards out after Thomas’ strike had been well saved by Lewis King.
City almost got their noses infront eight minutes before the break and it was more good work from Wright who crossed for Symons, but the strikers effort was kept out by King before Daniel Nti’s follow-up was similarly blocked.
As the teams seemed to be heading in to the break on level terms Sam Staunton-Turner picked out an unmarked Ennis in the hosts box and he rolled the ball into the bottom corner to restore The Celts lead.
Within two minutes of the restart Wright was on hand again to draw Worcester level and it was a carbon-copy of his first as Ellis Deeney’s deflected effort from the edge of the box fell to the new signing five-yards out to slam home.
Carl Heeley’s men had the wind in their sail and went close twice when Symons’ header looped on to the top of the net before Connor Gater’s cushioned volley dropped just wide.
The visitors were inches away from taking the lead for a third time on the hour mark and it was the danger-man Ennis who whipped a delivery in from the right but Dickenson couldn’t get enough on his volley and the ball flashed agonisingly wide.
Symons nearly made it the perfect return to City after 72 minutes when he received a cross from Nti but his bobbled effort looped over King and onto the post.
Nti, who signed a one-year contract with the club ahead of the game, headed substitute Ebby Nelson-Addy’s corner just wide as Worcester failed to break a resolute Stalybridge backline for the winner.
Manager Heeley said: “The pleasing thing today was how we kept our composure and how we kept playing.
“We came back from behind against a full-time team, I thought we looked fitter, I thought we looked stronger in the last 20 minutes and we created more than enough chances to win the game.
“We haven’t got beat, we’ve got a point and it’s a point more than we had this time last season, so that’s a positive. The boys settled down and I think we’ve got the makings of a good side and I think they’ll get better and better.”
Attendance: 565
To see how the game unfolded in our live blog, click here.