The best match of the North One West Port-e-Chee season to date produced a gripping finale after several lead changes on Saturday.

But a thrilling 22-22 draw with Glossop will ultimately be rued as a missed home win opportunity for Douglas amidst a couple of howlers in defence.

Lock Nick Hughes took an early clattering as the two sets of forwards got acquainted, scrums and lineouts on par in a thrust and counter-thrust first-half.

The build-up to Glossop’s opener looked harmless, but a raking 20th-minute penalty kick to the corner was athletically kept in play by Douglas.

Whether through miscommunication or overzealous ambition, the Douglas defence dithered to cough up a try-scoring gift for Glossop winger Chris Sonczak.

Luke Hyland stroked over a 30th-minute Douglas penalty after Jon Gilmore’s yellow-card for Glossop offside once too often, and Paul Leivers manufactured Douglas line-out possession in a Lazarus-like performance considering his lengthy absence from league action.

Winger Kyle Martin scorched over from full-back Will Cain’s cut-out pass for 8-5 at the interval, but John Tenant’s 30-metre burst from scrum-half took him past two Douglas defenders for an 8-12 second-half lead with Rob Soczak’s conversion.

Hughes was replaced by Nathan Hinks, the Douglas pack shoved the Glossop eight backwards, and Hyland at scrum-half slid between his markers and tapped over the extra points for 15-12.

Hinks got a leg knock 10 minutes into his shift, replaced by Owen Carvin off the Douglas bench, and Bryn Snellgrove cut two sumptuous lines through midfield. The first fizzled out from lack of support, and the counter from Glossop was deadly.

Winger Alex Hughes set the Glossop riposte alight and moments later Douglas were on their own line, defending grimly. Possession was turned over, Cain winning the ball on the ground, but inexplicably Douglas chose to run from behind their own line and drop the ball.

A scrum and two phases later Hughes flew in for 15-17 after the conversion was, crucially, missed.

Snellgrove’s second exquisitely timed charge in the last quarter saw him clear midfield left and this time with compadres on his shoulder.

Glossop stemmed the flow, Douglas swung the ball right and Cain committed two defenders before flipping a glorious under-elbow pass outside for Henthorn to canter in. Hyland’s 65th-minute conversion for 22-17 set up a frantic denouement as Glossop huffed and puffed, and nearly blew the Port-e-Chee house down.

Full-back Greg Moran split the Douglas cover to sprint over for the equalising bonus-point try six metres in from the right touchline, and the hosts were relieved to watch Sonczak’s left-footed 79th-minute conversion attempt fade wide for a share of the spoils.

Douglas line-up: Simon Hoddinott, Rob Todd, Owen Carvin, Ralph Clarke, Nathan Hinks, Paul Leivers, Nick Hughes, Carl Markyl-Ferns, Blake Snell, Niall Killey, Luke Hyland, Harry Swayne, Bryn Snellgrove, Harry Hewson, Craig Martin, Charlie Henthorn, Will Cain, Kyle Martin, David Sherwin, Jack Shimmin.