If there were prizes for battling in the face of adversity, then Matlock would certainly get one as virtually nothing went right for them until Mark Haran's 86th minute equaliser earned them a replay from a windswept Wincham Park on Saturday.
The Gladiators had lost the spine of their side by the interval as both Dene Cropper and Adam Sollitt were stretchered off and then Simon Sturdy did not reappear for the second half.
Their starting line up had seen Sturdy and Ross Hannah both return but Ben Algar and Danny wood ruled out.
Opponents Witton, relegated to the UniBond First Division South at the end of last season, are well placed for an immediate return to the top level, and although they had one or two injuries, they again included stalwart Brian Pritchard in central defence, who over the years, has often been a thorn in Matlock's side.
Matlock had to face the elements in the first half but they began well as Liam King and Hannah shot wide within the opening ten minutes. It was on the ten minute mark though that their problems began as Cropper went down holding his leg under no challenge at all from an Albion defender. On came the stretcher with the centre forward, who was in good form having netted in his last three games, facing four to six weeks on the sidelines with a calf injury.
Those problems worsened on 22 minutes when Albion took the lead from their first serious shot at the Matlock goal. Indecision in the Gladiators defence out on the right gave BRAD MAYLETT a clear path through and the winger comfortably tucked his shot low into the corner beyond Sollitt.
The goal rocked Matlock and for a while Witton were first to the ball and were on top, but thankfully did not create anything clear cut. Several balls forward were overhit which took the pressure off the Matlock defence in which James Lukic was outstanding.
Matlock put together a good move which again ended with King firing too high, but the feeling was that if they could reach the interval only one goal in arrears, they would stand an evens chance of saving the tie after the interval.
They would not though, have expected two more injuries, including one to Sollitt who advanced to the edge of his box to collect a through pass only for his studs to get twisted in the wet turf. Again a stretcher was required and Sollitt left the field with ankle ligament damage, with goalkeeping coach Nick Buxton taking over between the posts.
And when the teams reappeared after their half time refreshment there was no Simon Sturdy, the on loan defender had been struggling with his ankle injury in the run up to half time. Mark Haran, what an able deputy, came on as Matlock sought better fortune in the second period.
Buxton had little of note to do as the outfield players battled hard, first to prevent Witton from finding any opportunities to double their advantage, and then to set about finding that much needed equaliser.
As usual, Hannah worked his socks off, but when a great chance came his way, this time he could not finish it off as his volley from a left wing cross by Lee Featherstone was straight at goalkeeper Joe Clegg, with some of the pace having been taken off it.
The visiting support urged their favourites on, but the danger was that they would have been reflecting again on "another of those days" at Wincham Park, a ground where Matlock have perfrormed well on in recent seasons but have come away empty handed.
That danger looked to be more apparent when Pritchard, marshalling his troops with his usual efficiency, sliced a header on to his own bar with Clegg a spectator.
But Matlock, looking to extend their unbeaten run to eight matches, would not lie down as Witton were pushed back deeper and deeper.
They got their reward with just four minutes left as HARAN, supplementing the attack, drove in a low twelve yarder and then celebrated deliriously with the fans behind the goal.
Then Matlock could even have won it as Hannah broke clear to face Clegg on a one on one, but the goalkeeper won this confrontation as he saved well from the Town goalscoring machine.
Witton sent on the prolific Steve Foster after Haran's leveller, but despite forcing a late corner, they could not pinch the tie, as in the final analysis, a draw from a competitive affair in horrible conditions was just about right.
The injuries though are a concern and Matlock and their fans will be hoping they don't turn out to be as serious as first envisaged.
MATLOCK TOWN: Adam Sollitt (Nick Buxton 39),Adam Yates, Lee Featherstone, Liam King, Simon Sturdy (Mark Haran 46), James Lukic, Gareth Davies, Steve Warne, Dene Cropper (Nathan Benger 11),Ross Hannah, Darren Cartwright. Other sub: Scott Brough
REFEREE: M Salisbury--Preston. Attendance: 254. Star Man: James Lukic.
