A second half Steve Warne brace looked like giving Matlock all three points after they had overturned a half time deficit at the Turnbull Ground. But with ten minutes left the Seasiders best player, former Leeds striker, Tony Hackworth got the goal his performance had deserved and the points were deservedly shared.
Gareth Davies who as a substitute scored the winner in the previous week's FA Trophy victory against Loughborough Dynamo, came in for the man he replaced, Danny Wood, in the one change to the Matlock starting line up. Dene Cropper failed a late fitness check.
Whitby, on the fringes of the relegation zone, began the game like a house on fire. The early play suggested that Matlock, who had conceded five goals in each of their last two away matches, might go down to a heavy defeat again. Somehow though, they survived a torrid opening spell with Whitby threatening to run riot.
Scott Brough cleared an early near post corner which had been helped on by Hackworth. Then Adam Sollitt had to dive to his left to produce a fine stop from another effort from Hackworth. From the resulting corner, Sollitt again saved his side with a splendid tip over the bar from a Danny Brunskill header. But the biggest scare so far came in just the 6th minute as Hackworth bdrove forwards to strike the bar with a thunderous 22 yard shot.
Matlock weathered that early storm but as an attacking force, they were virtually non existent at this stage. Whitby had to be patient as they stroked the ball about impressively but they did not threaten seriously again until the 26th minute when Liam King managed to deflect a shot from Brunskill behind for an unproductive corner.
But the goal which had been coming, particularly early on, arrived two minutes later as Brunskill turned on the edge of the box and although Sollitt managed to stop his low cross shot, he could only push the ball out as far as GED DALTON who scrambled in his first Whitby goal from close range following his summer move from Blyth Spartans.
Matlock's first shot at goal came six minutes later when Ross Hannah lifted a free kick too high after Nathan Benger had been pushed in the back by Andrew Leeson some thirty yards out. Then on 37 minutes Warne burst through from midfield but ran out of steam when it was time to pull the trigger, his half hit effort rolling gently to David Campbell on his 400th appearance for the Seasiders.
On the stroke of half time, Matlock lost Brough who went down under Leeson's challenge in the box. Whitby must have been relieved not to concede a spot kick.
Whatever manager Atkins said to his team during the interval certainly had the desired effect as Matlock looked a totally different side in the second half. Davies, who started on the right, swapped with Warne as Matlock needed a greater physical presence in the centre of midfield.
After Jimmy Beadle had plundered a thirty five yarder wide, the visitors drew level with an outstanding goal in the 49th minute. Hannah showed Ashley Lyth a clean pair nof heels down the right before linking up with WARNE who steadied himself to place a low shot past Campbell into the far corner from eight yards.
Warne then saw his cross cut out as Matlock found more joy down the right. Now it was Whitby on the back foot and they should have been behind on 55 minutes when Benger headed on to send Hannah clear but Campbell saved the day in a one on one situation, getting down to block Town's leading marksman's shot. Campbell saved again frtom Hannah and Denny Ingram was relieved to see a faulty header from an Adam Yates pass unconvincingly over his own bar.
This seemed to wake Whitby up and after Lyth and Hackworth saw shots charged down, Brunskill amazingly knocked too high with the goal at his mercy. That miss looked to be costly when Matlock went in front on 73 minutes. Again Hannah did all the spadework down the right, once more feeding WARNE who shot through Campbell, the goalkeeper not covering himself with glory on this occasion.
Hannah twice fired wide as Matlock looked for the killer third goal, but Whitby managed to earn the point that their good start deserved when HACKWORTH twisted and turned in the box to squeeze a low shot out of Sollitt's reach.
The game had now become tense and feisty. Adam Yates went down under challenge from Christian Hanson, the referee satisfying himself with a lecture to the Seasider. But shortly afterwards, King was booked for catching Ingram which caused a confrontation involving players from both sides. King could consider himself unlucky to be the game's only booking.
Matlock will have mixed feelings with the outcome. At half time they would have settled for a point, having been clearly second best in the opening half. But after rallying to go in front in the second half, they would have liked to have held on.
MATLOCK TOWN: Sollitt, Brough (Featherstone 46), Yates, King, Sturdy, Lukic, Davies, Warne, Benger, Hannah, Algar (Wood 71). Other subs: Haran, Cartwright, Buxton.
REFEREE: M McGrath (leconfield, East Yorks) ATTENDANCE: 318 STAR MAN: Steve Warne.
