Town share the points in a dramatic new-home opener against Poynton

Match Verdict

Bollington Town's first competitive outing at Church Lane was a fitting curtain-raiser for the new era — combative, eventful, and ultimately deadlocked. Town were the sharper side for long spells of the first half, forcing a string of corners and half-chances through Jake Bowers, Declan Hanks and George Richardson, but couldn't find a breakthrough despite going in level at the break having weathered two bookings of their own around a spirited midfield battle with Ryan Hibbert at the heart of it.

Poynton were reduced to ten men around the hour mark, yet still found a way to make the breakthrough on 66' against the run of play — forcing Town to chase the game with the introduction of fresh legs off the bench. Town's persistence paid off in the closing stages when Declan Hanks picked out substitute Jack Heppell, who finished coolly to level the scores with virtually his final touch of a productive cameo.

The drama wasn't done — Jacob Callum Hodgson, on for barely four minutes, was shown a straight red card deep into stoppage time, levelling the numbers back up and leaving Town to see out the closing moments with ten men themselves. A point apiece felt about right on the balance of play, and a memorable way to christen the new ground.