Heanor Town 4 Thackley 3

Thackley led twice at Heanor Town and later came from a goal down to equalise before losing out in a seven-goal thriller.

The Dennyboys remain second in the Northern Counties East Premier Division but are now five points adrift of table-toppers Tadcaster Albion.

Mike Garrod put Thackley in front in the 15th minute but the league’s leading scorer, Kieran Debrouwer, levelled for the Derbyshire outfit soon after.

Into the second half, the Dennyboys regained the lead through Brendan Maltby but again it lasted moments as Jarred Holmes replied.

Nathan Banger netted to give the home side the lead for the first time but a Matt Hall strike made it all square again before Banger fired home to complete the scoring four minutes from time.

Thackley spokesman Mick Lodge said: “It was an excellent game and it was just a pity that we couldn’t get the equaliser because we came so close.

“Paul Whiteley went on a run from the halfway line in the 89th minute and rounded three defenders but his shot was tipped over by the Heanor keeper.

“We had seven players missing as well, six that would have started and one who would have been on the bench. It was just one of those days really.”