BARNOLDSWICK’S return to action ended in defeat as they were beaten 2-1 at Charnock Richard on Saturday.

It was Barlick’s first league fixture since March 4 following the various postponements in recent weeks, but the ten man visitors couldn’t make it a winning comeback.

The away side started brightly, with Ben Ashton testing the home goalkeeper with a crisp driving shot but he expertly parried the ball wide for a corner.

Unfortunately for Barlick, Carl Grimshaw reacted quickest to collect a loose ball before firing a shot beyond the reach of Henry Turner. Charnock saw the half out and went into the break with a 1-0 lead.

The visiting team pressed for the equaliser in the early stages of the second half and they were soon rewarded for their endeavour - Jack Foster hitting a fine strike on the turn to level things up. That was as good as it got for Barnoldswick, with the last ten minutes unravelling in the home side’s favour.

Firstly, Bradley Ditch was shown a red card after bringing down Grimshaw just before he had the chance to pull the trigger. From the resulting penalty Nathan Nickeas slotted home the winner with one minute left of normal time and Barnoldswick went home empty handed.

Barlick host Congleton Town tomorrow evening before welcoming Longridge Town to the Silentnight stadium on Saturday.