Whitby forced to settle for 2-2 draw on the road at Rushall Olympic

The hosts could hardly have asked for a brighter start and were ahead inside two minutes following a frantic opening attack. Rushall struggled to cope with Adam Gell’s early ball forward, which caused immediate problems in the visiting defence. The pass picked out Jake Charles, whose initial effort was just about parried away by goalkeeper Jenson Kilroy. However, the rebound fell kindly and Matthew Tymon reacted quickest, slotting the ball into an open net to give Whitby a dream start.

Unlike in their midweek victory at Cleethorpes Town, Whitby weren't particularly buoyed by the early breakthrough.

Rushall started to push forward with centre-back Jordaan Brown surging out of defence on a powerful run and exchanged a clever one-two before driving toward goal. From a tight angle he unleashed a fierce strike that cannoned off the post, with Whitby relieved to see the danger escape them.

Rushall continued to grew into the game and found their equaliser after 16 minutes. Daniel Chimeziri was afforded too much space inside the area and made the Seasiders pay, drilling a composed low strike beyond Shane Bland to bring the hosts level.

The game remained open and full of attacking intent from both sides. Luke Enright attempted to put Rushall in to the lead four minutes later with a first-time effort, though his strike sailed over the crossbar. Moments later the visitors came even closer when Aaron Haswell cleverly laid the ball into the path of Layton Watts, whose first-time dipping strike flashed narrowly wide of the post.

Rushall threatened at the other end as well, forcing Bland into a huge save in the 27th minute after Whitby struggled to properly clear their lines. Chimeziri then tried his luck again shortly before the half-hour mark, dragging a low effort wide from distance.

One of the best chances of the half arrived six minutes before the break when Jakub Kruszynski unleashed a thunderous drive from range that rattled the crossbar, as the sides went into the interval level.

The second half continued in much the same fashion. Bland was called into action again in the 57th minute, saving well from Enright and holding the ball at the second attempt under pressure.

But Whitby regained the lead two minutes later thanks to a superbly crafted move. Harley Dawson threaded a perfectly weighted pass through the defence to Layton Watts, who produced a stunning powered finish that left Kilroy helpless and restored the Seasiders’ advantage.

However, the lead lasted only moments. Just two minutes later, Enright capitalised on a Connor Smith clearance which had been closed down. With Bland caught out of position, the Rushall number ten calmly finished to level the contest once again.

The game continued to swing from end to end. Charles sliced an effort wide after being picked out by Watts, while Dawson tested Kilroy with a routine save midway through the half. Bland remained busy too, taking the sting out of Carter Lycett’s effort before gathering comfortably.

Whitby nearly found a winner when Dawson forced Kilroy into an excellent fingertip save to push the ball around the post with 13 minutes remaining.

Late chances followed for the home side though, with Sam Unitt curling over the bar and Harry Wakefield glancing a header wide from a free-kick. And in stoppage time, Bland produced a magnificent save to deny Brown and preserve parity, ensuring the spoils were shared after a lively and evenly matched encounter.