DARWEN shared the spoils with high-flying Formby at the Anchor Ground and moved up to sixth in NWCL Division Two.

A first half opener from Denny Khan and a re-taken penalty for a late equaliser by Daniel Stubberfield brought a point, but manager Steve Wilkes was disappointed.

He said: "We had great chances to kill the game, but didn't take them. Instead, we were poor, giving the ball away too much. They footballed us to death in the end."

Khan gave Darwen the lead after 10 minutes at a routine set-piece, converting Stubberfield's cross with a sweetly-struck volley.

On the stroke of half-time, Formby equalised through Neil Olsen then five minutes into the second period went ahead when Mark Wilson volleyed home from the edge of the box.

To their credit, Darwen fought back. On 78 minutes, a tangle in the Formby area brought a penalty when a defender was adjudged to have handled on the ground.

Stubberfield, 19, saw his spot-kick saved, but the referee ordered a re-take and the talented teenager made no mistake the second time.

DARWEN...2

FORMBY...2