The disappointment of last weeks two dropped points was nothing compared to the sense of injustice brought about by those lost in this game for Prestwich dominated from start to finish, hit the post and bar, and had the ball ricocheting around the Blackburn six yard area like a pin ball machine at times but just didn’t quite get the luck of the bounce when they needed it.
Prestwich started strongly playing their usual neat passing game with play concentrated in the Blackburn half and inevitably chances started to come, Mike Neary beat several players in a terrific run down to the right touchline by the edge of the area, but was just squeezed out before he could get a shot or pull back in. Steve Murty too was proving a constant threat down the left assisted by the intelligent overlapping runs of left back Tom Gibson who went on to have a tremendous game both defensively and going forward.
Indeed it was Gibson who came closest to giving Prestwich the lead with a cracking shot from the left hand edge of the area that cannoned of the upright.
There followed a string of corners but in spite of centre backs Sam Holden and Richard Steadman’s presence nobody quite managed to make a telling connection.
Defensively Prestwich looked comfortable with Chris Hopkins who also had a fine game adding that bit of extra protection snapping into challenges just in front of the back four of Holden, Steadman, Gibson and Joel Hudson.
Murty had a shot just turned wide from six yards out on the left before Matt Struminski smashed one against the left hand upright from 20 yards.
Then on 25mins there was a catastrophe, Blackburn won a free kick some 35 yards out towards the left touchline, the delivery into the box was good a wickedly swerving ball that was met with the faintest of touches by a Blackburn striker but it was enough to divert it passed keeper Mike Hudson giving him no chance.
Prestwich came back on the attack and five minutes later a defensive error let Struminski in one on one, the finish was calm and precise to make it three goals in three games an excellent return from an attacking midfield role, the final score actually making him the sides only goal scorer in the last three games.
It remained one a piece at half time.
The second half was played out in the same way with Prestwich dominating but for the occasional counter attack and tussle to get on the end of long balls but Holden or Steadman came of best in most of these and if not Hudson did the sweeping.
With the clock ticking away there was more and more urgency about a Prestwich side desperate for the three points, Connor Hart saw a powerful long range effort just go over, Neary rounded the keeper and looked about to slot it into an empty net but slightly skewed it allowing Blackburn to clear, whilst Holden and Steadman had several headers just clear the bar from corners and free kicks.
The best chance fell to Murty who worked his way through to be one on one with the keeper in a central position a scenario which usually results in a goal, this time the shot was blocked by the keepers legs.
Blackburn held on to the end though to grab an unlikely point, and whilst it takes Prestwich’s unbeaten run to seven the lads there was a strong sense of disappointment as the four points dropped in the last two games would have seen them two point clear at the top instead of fourth.
Whilst it would be a false position given the games in hand everyone has, the nature of this strange season will place an incredible strain on clubs resources in the hectic run in with teams being asked to play three or four games a week, so who knows what may happen and with only one top six team left to play the target has to be to get as many points on the board as is possible from the twenty one remaining.
