STEETON kept themselves in the early picture at the right end of the division with a draw away at Maine Road.
In a match played against the background of torrential rain in Greater Manchester, the Chevrons recovered from a slow start to dominate for large parts before eventually pulling level midway through the second half.
And in truth, Roy Mason and his side, who the manager praised for their committed effort throughout the encounter, will feel disappointed to have only come away from Brantingham Road with one point and not all three.
With the sky and pitch constantly filling with water, the visitors got off to the worst possible start to their afternoon.
And it could not have got much worse with Maine Road opening the scoring after just 45 seconds.
A loose pass at the back following the kick-off fell at the feet of Jack Coop.
The striker made the most of the offer as if he was using a membership card at the till of his namesake to round Brad Emmerson and slot into the open net to put his side in the ascendancy from the off.
Steeton settled and had most of the possession for the remainder of the first half but could not make the most of the ball to find the leveller.
Aidan Kirby saw his effort turned away with a timely defensive block before a corner was agonisingly turned inches over the bar from the head of Keann Shaw.
The second half saw tempers flare despite the ever worsening rain and cold conditions that saw the aptly named referee, Mr Dolphin, become concerned with how aquatic things were becoming.
A late challenge saw the two sets of players come together and three yellow cards brandished of which two were in the direction of Macca Smith and Lewis Gartland.
Still on the hunt for an equaliser, Mason opted to make a double change and introduce both Josh Coe and Mark Hoban to the equation.
And they proved inspired changes as the pair would link-up to find the much deserved leveller for the visitors and restore parity.
Lewis Gartland broke down the wing and fed the ball to the feet of Coe.
The big man in turn, turned towards the goal and fed the ball into the path of Hoban.
And the midfielder made no mistake in firing home his first goal for the club from close range, taking advantage of the conditions to leave a Maine Road defender face down in the mud before slotting past the keeper.
Steeton then thought they had found the winner with five minutes left on the clock.
The super sub link-up thought it have borne fruits as Hoban this time turned provider for Coe.
However, the official ruled the goal out having deemed the big man to have fouled the Maine Road defender whilst int eh act of scoring.
Steeton saw another late chance blocked on the line as they had to settle for a share of the spoils.
STEETON (Subs): Emmerson; Barnes; Williamson (Coe); Chalashika; Shaw; Khan (Hoban); Townsend; Holgate; Kirby; M Smith; Gartland. Subs (Not Used): J Smith; Kelly; Lynn.
GOAL (Assist): Hoban 75’ (Coe)
