Mass brawl as Harriers draw

As the statistics suggested this game was always going to be a tight affair, Chorley had only scored 26 goals in their league campaign of 23 games whilst conceding only 22, and the games between these sides had been evenly matched.

Harriers went into this game unbeaten in their last 12 since their FA Cup defeat to AFC Fylde but Chorley failed to build on the 3-0 win at league leaders Salford City, taking just a point from the three games since.

There were starts given to Lee Vaughan and Dan Bradley for Harriers, both long term injury victims looking to get game time in a fixture that needed their experience.

In what was an instantly forgettable fixture from a footballing point of view an incident nine minutes from the end of the game providing the main talking point as well as possible ramifications against both clubs

Matt Challoner, the Chorley full-back , and Harriers striker Andre Brown had both been booked following an altercation which Challoner continued as play went on.

Harriers manager John Eustace reacted to a comment from a member of the Chorley management team which sparked a mass brawl involving players and management from both sides.

The match officials were calm and considered, discussed the outbreak and dismissed Challoner, Eustace, a member of the Chorley management team and Williams, Harriers’ unused substitute which led to a 10-minute delay in proceedings.

As regards the football action, Harriers perhaps carved out the clearer chances without looking threatening, Elton Ngwatala blazed a volley wide from what was the best footballing move of the game when a little composure may have been the order of the day.