A 94th minute equaliser from Whitchurch Alport striker Mike Blundell prevented Widnes FC from picking up their first win of the season, as the two sides played out a 3-3 thriller at the Select Security Stadium in a game that saw both sides finish with 10 men.

A tidy finish from Widnes winger Luke Edwards shortly after the half-hour mark saw the hosts take the lead before Alex Davies netted his 4th goal in his last 4 games after the break to give the Whites a comfortable two-goal lead after Whitchurch skipper Steve Watkins was sent-off early. However, Widnes keeper Gage Walsh was sent-off for denying a goalscoring opportunity allowing Mike Blundell to pull one back from 12 yards, beating substitute keeper Rob Cork. Blundell turned provider 3 minutes later, as his cross across the face of goal was headed in by substitute Dan Tinsley setting up an exciting final 15 minutes. Tom Hackett then restored Widnes’ lead before Blundell rescued a point for his side with a 94th minute header.

Following last week’s 4-1 defeat at Irlam, Widnes manager Steve Hill made two changes to the side that were defeated at Silver Street. Tom Hackett, who missed the trip to Irlam came in for Argentine defender Braian Sturtz-Rivelli and Ronnie McCarthy made his first appearance of the season, replacing Jamil Campbell-Joseph.

It was a fairly quiet opening 10 minutes to the game, with both sides looking to establish control over possession of the ball. The first talking point of the fixture came 13 minutes in, as Whitchurch captain Steve Watkins was sent off by referee Lewis Smith. Danny Lomax played a lovely through ball over the top to Tom Hackett who advanced on goal before being pulled down by Watkins who was deemed to be denying a goalscoring opportunity, leaving the referee with no choice to send the Alport skipper off.

Widnes nearly took the lead shortly afterwards as Paul Carney picked out Ronnie McCarthy who managed to evade the offside trap with a perfectly timed run before clipping his effort wide of the post.

Despite the man disadvantage, Whitchurch enjoyed a decent spell with the ball. Good build-up play culminated in Josh Rowley firing wide of the target with a shot that wasn’t too far away.

Widnes man Alex Davies was experiencing a lot of freedom down the right-hand side, freely roaming at will. He should have given Widnes the lead on the half-hour mark as Luke Edwards’ cross was met by the arriving Davies who put his effort over from inside the 6-yard area.

Widnes did eventually take the lead 2 minutes later. Tom Hackett picked the ball up in midfield, and played a pass to an unmarked Luke Edwards whose shot towards goal took a heavy deflection before finding its way into the back off the net. Edwards’ effort was his 3rd goal of the season.

Whitchurch’s almost equalised moments after the restart. Mike Blundell evaded the offside trap leaving him one-on-one with Widnes shot-stopper Gage Walsh who did extremely well to deny the striker’s attempted lob.

Widnes came close to a second shortly before the break. Danny Lomax picked out Davies bursting forward down the right who managed to dink his effort over the on-rushing keeper, narrowly missing the target as the ball went over.

Halftime: Widnes 1-0 Whitchurch Alport

Widnes were good value for their lead at the break, which was no less than they deserved. However, Alport were performing admirably well despite being down to 10-men.

The second half began in similar fashion to the first, with Widnes looking to capitalise on the man advantage. They doubled their lead 3 minutes prior to the hour-mark. Earlier goalscorer Edwards turned provider as his cross towards the back post was met by a bullet of a header from Alex Davies which was brilliantly denied by Alport keeper Will Hopkins before Davies poked the rebound home to record his 4th goal in his last 4 games.

The turning point in the game came 10 minutes later. Whitchurch began to step up their search for an equaliser with the ball falling to JJ Bailey who was through in goal. He attempted to round the on-rushing keeper Walsh who brought down Bailey in the area. Referee Smith awarded a penalty and promptly showed the Australian shot-stopper a red card.

As a result, substitute keeper Rob Cork was brought on for Danny Burthem, leaving Cork to face a penalty from Mike Blundell. Blundell stepped up confidently and dispatched his spot-kick despite Cork getting a strong hand to the penalty.

Minutes later, the game was turned on its head as Whitchurch equalised. Blundell turned provider as he turned away from Widnes skipper Tom Mitchell, crossing the ball towards the backpost where substitute Dan Tinsley headed the ball into the back of the net to equalise for Alport in something no one saw coming just 5 minutes previously.

The equaliser spurned the hosts on to go and find a winner. Davies was again instrumental as he went on a great individual run, engineering space for a shot that ultimately didn’t reflect the brilliant build-up play, as he dragged his effort across the face of goal and wide.

Widnes regained the lead 12 minutes from time. A great counter-attacking move from a Whitchurch corner, Lomax punted the ball away from danger allowing Alex Davies to bring it under control, threading the ball through to the surging forward Tom Hackett, who received the ball and calmly slotted beyond keeper Hopkins.

Facing a long period of stoppage time due to the change at goalkeeper, Widnes had to keep possession of the ball and restrict what Whitchurch could do offensively. However, the visitors found a way to equalise in the 94th minute. The ball was drilled into the area, allowing JJ Bailey to head the ball back across the face of goal, providing the assist to Mike Blundell, who headed the ball home to record his second of the game and rescue a point for the NWCFL newcomers.

Widnes were stunned, and there wasn’t enough time left on the clock for the hosts to bag another as the referee blew for fulltime, with the visitors being the much happier of the two sides.

Fulltime: Widnes 3-3 Whitchurch Alport

Widnes’ wait for a first win of the season continues after being denied at the death by a resilient performance from the North West Counties newcomers, who despite losing their captain early on, never went away with desire and determination that probably warranted a point.

However, Widnes will feel that they should have won the game, given the amount of chances they created. To score three goals at home and not win will massively disappoint the Whites who will believe that they should be winning games like this due to their offensive prowess. Their failure to win means that Hill’s side will prop up the table due to Daisy Hill’s victory over Stockport Town.

Widnes will hope their first win comes at the next hurdle as they travel to the Manchester Regional Arena to take on Northwich Manchester Villa.

Widnes: Walsh, McGrogan (Casson 63), Carney, Stanley, Mitchell ©, Burthem (Cork 68), Davies, Lomax, Hackett, McCarthy, Edwards.

Subs not used: Williams, Sturtz-Rivelli.

Whitchurch Alport: Hopkins, Raymond, Oldham, Bailey, Watkins, Williamson, Rowley (Tinsley 63), Jones, Blundell, Ruane (Chesters 20), Lloyd (J. O’Keeffe 55).

Subs not used: D. O’Keeffe, Snape.