The handful of spectators who braved the elements on Wednesday night to watch this local derby at Victoria Park were rewarded with an enthralling full blooded encounter in which both sides gave total commitment.

Nelson were caught cold in only the second minute of the game when Ben Mousley turned in a low cross at the near post to give Colne the lead. And the Blues were lucky not to concede a second within minutes when Lee Bamber shot wide of an open goal.

Nelson looked good in flashes when going forward but the home defence was kept the busiest as Colne did most of the attacking during the first half. After 41 minutes Ben Mousley looked sure to double the visitors' lead as he raced clear on a through ball but a brilliant save by Andy Pickard denied the Colne striker.

Two minutes later, at the other end, a cross from the right wing enabled Nathan Egan to turn past a Colne defender and blast a shot into the roof of the net to level for Nelson at 1-1. And within a minute the Blues took the lead when Egan supplied the through ball for Lee Turner to shoot into the bottom corner of the Colne net giving Nelson an unexpected half time lead.

Colne pushed forward again in the second half and an explosive incident on the hour resulted in yellow cards for Darren Wright and Lee Bamber as referee John Leech was forced to take firm action.

As the game wore on, Nelson looked likely to hold on to their lead but after 80 minutes a corner kick for Colne led to a penalty when a crossed ball was blocked by a defender's arm in the goalmouth. Ben Mousley drove in the spot kick to equalise for Colne and earn his side a share of the spoils.