RADCLIFFE Borough were inches away from winning at table-topping FC Halifax Town on Saturday.

Steve Howson hit the bar and post after chipping Halifax goalkeeper Jon Kennedy late on in the 1-1 draw.

Howson had earlier punished Kennedy for dropping a cross by scoring a 67th minute equaliser.

Craig Dawson felt that he was impeded when Halifax took the lead on 32 minutes.

And fourth from bottom Radcliffe, who had lost their previous six UniBond League First Division North fixtures, will take a lot of confidence from Saturday’s hard working performance on a difficult pitch.

For they were full value for the point.

Radcliffe face a double-header of league fixtures this coming week. They host 15th-placed Woodley Sports on Saturday afternoon, January 17, and visit 12th-placed Trafford on Tuesday night, January 20.

Meanwhile, Radcliffe have been drawn at Conference North side Fleetwood Town in the quarter-finals of the Lancashire Co-Operative Trophy. The tie will be played on Tuesday, February 3.