AFC Liverpool came away from Staffordshire with one point from a match where their dominance should have seen them claim all three. A late Leon Quarless header ensured that the Reds weren’t left entirely cursing their misfortune after Aaron John looked as though he would give the home side an underserved winner.

After a hard hitting opening fifteen minutes, the Reds settled into a rhythm that would see them take control of proceedings, only to find Norton keeper Leigh Miller in inspired form. After a shaky start where he flapped at a couple of crosses, one of which where only Stephen Brunt’s intervention denied Callum Tai-Hogan the opening goal, Miller pulled off a string of outstanding saves that could have earmarked him a successor to Jan Tomaszewski.

Twice in he first half he denied Fran Barry, firstly turning over a blaster from twelve yards and secondly rushing off his line to snuff out a chance of a first competitive goal for the Reds’ number nine.

The second half continued in the same vein and was less than two minutes old when, following a Karl Gornell led counterattack, Aaron Stafford’s goalbound header was somehow turned behind for a corner by Miller.

Gornell was himself denied by Miller, blocking the winger’s near post shot after he had broke from inside his own half and ran three quarters the length of the pitch. Miller was then on hand to cover Darren Torpey’s thirty yard attempt that scraped the top of the crossbar.

As the last ten minutes of the match approached Norton United snatched the unlikeliest of leads. Aside from a half chance from a corner ten minutes into the match, Paul Willis hadn’t been troubled until he came for but failed to collect a long throw in. With the keeper stranded, the ball came through to John, who, all alone at the back post, smashed home from eight yards.

With the clock rapidly ticking down the Reds continued to search for that elusive goal. For the briefest of moments it seemed that it just might materialise when Aaron Stafford guided his header to the far corner, only to find his nemesis flinging himself full stretch to palm the ball away.

When it seemed as though the fates were to fully conspire against the Reds, in the dying seconds Quarless popped up at the back post to get on the end of a Gornell cross to finally break Miller’s, and consequently, Norton’s resistance. It was nothing less than AFC Liverpool deserved.

Norton United 1-1 AFC Liverpool
John 77’                   Quarless 90+4’
Attendance: 92

AFC Liverpool: 1.Paul Willis 2.Paddy O’Driscoll 3.Darren Torpey 4.Stephen McCluskie 5.David Derefaka 6.Callum Tai-Hogan 7.Karl Gornell 8.Phil Stafford (C) 9.Francis Barry (12.Leon Quarless 42’) 10.Steve Corris 11.Aarron Stafford
Unused Subs: 14.Conor Murphy 15.Joe Gibbons GK.Jack Baker

Norton United: 1.Leigh Miller 2.David Davies 3.Stephen Brunt (14.Jon Barrass 63’) 4.Dean Smith 5.Wayne Brotherton 6.Thomas Winkle 7. Ashley Hill (12.Steven Allen 65’) 8.Ryan Connor 9.Michael Marren 10.Mark Soboljew 11.Delroy Fox (15.Aaron John 65’)
Unused Subs: – 16.Isaac Thomas 17.Jon Evans