Avro stretched their unbeaten run to eleven games and recorded an eighth clean sheet in all competitions, but ultimately there was a sense of a missed opportunity at the final whistle, after they had failed to make the breakthrough which their superiority deserved in the closing stages.
Manager Alex Frost made several enforced changes to the starting eleven against Widnes, and Jack Anderton made his debut after his move from Longridge Town the previous week. Neither side created much by way of clear cut goal scoring opportunities in the opening 45 minutes, although Matty Crothers and Max McCarthy both came close with efforts from outside the opposition’s penalty area.
After the restart, the visitors upped the tempo without testing Grant Shenton in the Avro goal, and it was the home side who then dominated the last twenty minutes of the encounter. Jamie Rother stung the palms of Hanley keeper Adam Whitehouse after excellent work by Bebeto Gomes, but it was substitute Ben Wharton who was to have the best two chances to earn his side all three points.
First he found himself clean through after a defensive error, but could only shoot straight at Whitehouse. And then in injury time, he backheeled a cross from the right against the post, with Gomes’ follow up effort well saved to ensure that the points were shared. Sam Rathbone also went close with a header from a corner, and it was also his crucial intervention at the other end which denied Hanley the chance to poach a winner late on.
