SILSDEN and Barton made light of playing their game on Humberside in thick fog at the weekend, as the two teams played out a thrilling 4-4 draw.

The red-hot Jack Normanton grabbed his second hat-trick in two games, but a leaky defence ensured the visitors had to settle for a point.

Silsden were the first to show in this NCEL Premier Division clash, with Khurram Shazad slipping a ball through to Normanton, who unfortunately had strayed offside.

The Swans countered, with Kurtis Bateson curling over a dangerous cross which was cleared by skipper Arley Barnes.

Barton maintained the pressure, with Kian Salter cutting in from the byline before crossing into the box.

Ben Hinchcliffe killed it in an instant, but fired into the side netting.

Bateson then broke the offside trap but Sammy Lee saved his effort.

The Cobbydalers almost took the lead against the run of play when Kyle Hancock threaded a ball up to Normanton.

He initially turned away from the home goal but then twisted sharply. He cut inside two defenders and drew the keeper, but his shot went agonisingly wide of the far post.

That spurred the Swans on and Bateson’s pace and ball control took him in the clear, only for him to slice an effort wide.

His next foray was halted by Dan Illingworth’s crunching tackle which led to an injury for the Silsden man, with Shaun Airey replacing him at the back.

Immediately, Tom Waudby sliced through the defence like a knife through butter to put the Swans in the lead.

Barton were well on top, with some slick pass-and-move football.

Lee did well to thwart Ben Hinchcliffe, and the same player should have done better with another chance, but he shot wide.

But Jamie Goddard did make it two on 33 minutes with a spectacular overhead kick.

Silsden were staring down the barrel, but soon after Normanton’s pace took him in the clear and, after a one-two with Shazad, he coolly slid the ball under the advancing keeper Mike Emery to halve the deficit.

The second half started with the visitors in the ascendancy, as Shazad took control of the midfield.

One cross of his into the danger area was partially cleared, but only to Jos Bradshaw, who threaded the ball through to Normanton.

A dip of the shoulder led to a shot which Emery managed to save.

But having been under some pressure, Barton then broke away and Bateson made it 3-1.

The game might have got away from the Cobbydalers and heads might have dropped, but in the space of seven minutes, they incredibly found themselves 4-3 up.

With Normanton in such superb form, anything was possible, but even the away fans couldn’t believe the rapid turnaround.

First, Hancock slid a ball behind the Swans’ back four and Normanton was on to it in a flash to slide it wide of Emery and into the net.

Six minutes later, left-back Lewis Gardner ran from deep and exchanged passes with Bradley Riley who crossed in from the byline.

Normanton out-thought the defence and reacted quickest to complete his second hat-trick on the bounce.

Within a minute, the Cobbydalers were in the lead, with Riley, who was having his best game of the season to date, making it 4-3.

But almost as soon as Silsden had edged in front, Barton equalised, with Waudby netting his second of the game on 65 minutes.

The mist thickened but the pace didn’t drop, with both sides searching for a fifth.

Riley was offering support both for the defence and attack and was instrumental in setting up a chance for Bradshaw, who fired just over.

Mark Everingham cleared at the back for the Sils while Gardner broke down the right to keep up the pressure.

Goddard shot wide at the other end and, as stoppage time arrived, Bradshaw drove the ball to Normanton, who saw his effort just clear the Barton crossbar for the final chance of a thrilling contest.

The next game for Silsden is at home on Tuesday, December 28, when Knaresborough Town visit for a 3pm kick-off.