BANGOR City men’s hockey team played out a hard-fought 2-2 draw at home to NWHL Division Two high-flyers Warrington.

The Blues got off to the worst possible start, conceding a short corner inside the first thirty seconds, which resulted in a goal for the visitors from the ensuing drag flick.

Warrington, who are second in the table, pressed for a second but the City defence held out and the team responded well. Keith Proudlove forced the visiting goalkeeper into a save, but moments later he went one better, by finding the backboard with a reverse stick shot to draw Bangor level.

More attacking pressure forced a short corner and with Ash Hardaker’s goalbound drag flick being stopped illegally by a Warrington defender, the umpires blew for a penalty flick. Up stepped Hardaker to slingshot the ball straight into the top corner and make it two-one.

Bangor remained well organised without the ball and dangerous with it, and Paul McCallum and Flynn Holt went close to adding to the scoreline. However, a defensive lapse at the end of the first half led to another Warrington short corner, which was dispatched into the top corner with aplomb, to draw the visitors level again.

The second half was a well contested affair, with both sides creating chances to re-take the lead. Harry Street, Harry Collins-Jones and Oli Ekberg all had chances for City, while Hardaker had another short corner saved.

At the opposite end, goalkeeper Harri Evans made a string of crucial saves to deny Warrington, while defender Andrzej Griffiths put his body on the line on several occasions with his trademark kamikaze style charge-downs of opposition short corners. Fellow defenders Gwion Jones and Hardaker also made some excellent tackles to frustrate the visitors.

The final whistle eventually blew with the scores at two-all, with the score probably a fair reflection of this entertaining, competitive encounter.

City are back on the road next Saturday to take on Knutsford 2nds, 2pm pushback.