MICHAEL Welch hailed Middlewich Town’s response to falling behind after they recovered to earn a share of the spoils from a meeting with in-form Pilkington.

The Witches remain top of the Cheshire League’s Premier Division, three points clear of second-placed Altrincham reserves, as a result.

“We stuck in there to get a deserved equaliser,” said the co-manager.

“It wasn’t the best game in terms of quality but we looked solid against a tough opponent.”

The visitors, victors in four of their previous five matches, had the ball in the net inside 60 seconds when Deklan Hill poked in.

However he was judged to have been offside.

Pilks appealed again to the match officials when Chris Luby went down after attempting to dribble around goalkeeper Charles Masters but the referee was unimpressed.

It was Town’s turn to feel frustrated early in the second-half when Scott Twite’s header from a free-kick was chalked off for a foul.

They fell behind on 68 minutes when Nathan Moore’s cross reached Matthew Taylor at the back post and he fired low, out of Masters’ reach, into the bottom-corner.

Middlewich rallied though and drew level when Harry Short diverted Dan Lomas’ flick-on from a long throw into the net from close-range.

A final penalty shout, this time when Pilks’ Adam Dixon claimed a defender had blocked his shot with an arm, also fell on deaf ears.

Town, unbeaten now in their past five league matches, visit Daten on Saturday, kick-off 2pm.