Widnes twice came from behind to secure a memorable victory over Glossop North End on Saturday.

The Whites had to show their mettle to move to within three points of safety at the bottom of the NPL West, fighting back after Joe Rothwell and Luke Nock twice put Glossop in front.

This was a big test of character for Michael Ellison’s side who came into the contest winless in their previous four and propping up the table in 20th.

But they passed with flying colours, levelling first through Jordan Simpson’s header and then debutant Sharif Islam Deans’ back-post effort.

That set the scene for stand-in skipper Steven Irwin to fire home three minutes from time, via the post, to give his team an important three points.

Ellison made three changes to the side beaten by Kidsgrove Athletic last time out, switching to a 4-2-3-1 system with Stephen Rigby and Louis Isherwood earning recalls while new signing Islam Deans was blooded from the start.

But the Widnes manager was once again left to rue a slow start as the Whites fell behind inside the opening 10 minutes for the fourth successive game.

He could only hold his hands up this time however as Rothwell’s shot from the edge of the D took a massive deflection that totally wrongfooted Cameron Terry on its way in.

The goal was indicative of a team down on its luck, but Widnes, to their credit, responded well.

Rigby was unfortunate not to connect with an acrobatic attempt at reaching Islam Deans’ cross although goalkeeper Terry had to be alert at the other end to push a snapshot away to safety.

They earned a leveller on the stroke of the half-hour mark.

Widnes’ prowess from set-pieces and the delivery of Rigby has been a particular threat since the arrival of Ellison as manager, and it once again proved dividends as Simpson scored his first for the club from close range after meeting a Rigby corner.

The hosts ended the half strongly with Will Jones inches away from connecting with an Islam Deans cross while Rigby had a shot blocked after a period of sustained pressure.

It felt as though Widnes needed to make their dominance at the end of the first half count but Glossop stood firm to go in at half time level.
And Glossop punished them for failing to do so as they restored their slender advantage just six minutes after the restart.

Widnes didn’t quite deal with a corner as well as they’d have liked and Nock fired back in from the edge of the area, with his shot taking a slight deflection that took it beyond the outstretched glove of Terry.

Despite once again falling behind, it always felt as though Widnes were firmly in this contest.

And boss Ellison was aggressive with his changes, introducing Lucas Schofield and James McCulloch off the bench, switching to a 3-4-3 system that allowed wing-backs Matty Rain and Jay Roberts to push on.

The system change, at times, overwhelmed Glossop and ultimately led to the set-piece that delivered Widnes’ second equaliser.

Roberts went short with his corner, played a one-two with Schofield before delivering a deep cross that found the head of Islam Deans, who added the simplest of headed finishes to set up a thrilling ending to a topsy-turvy contest.

Both sides went for the winner, for differing reasons. The battle towards the bottom of the NPL West has already descended into a scrap, with Widnes trying to claw in the teams above them, while Glossop are fighting to avoid being dragged in.

Chances were exchanged. Joshua Jordan made a superb sliding challenge to deny Keaton Mulvey, who had look poised to score after Widnes twice failed to clear their line.

Down the other end, substitute McCulloch couldn’t quite connect with Rain’s delicious delivery to take the ball goalwards.

Jordan then blazed over from a corner, and it seemed as though Widnes were going to be forced to settle for a point.

But when the winner came, few could argue that Widnes didn’t deserve maximum points.

It was a wonderfully crafted goal, with Schofield splitting the Glossop defence with an inch-perfect pass to release Rain in behind.

Rain’s shot was pushed away by Louis Hood, but only as far as Irwin, who steadied himself to strike into the bottom corner, via the post, to seal an important victory for Widnes.

It went from bad to worse for the visitors when Jacques Etia was shown a second yellow card and sent off deep into second half stoppage time.