Radcliffe let slip a 3–2 lead and draw 3–3 with Merthyr, but climb to 20th

Sunday 1 November 2026 · By Oliver Brannigan

Radcliffe drew 3–3 at home with Merthyr Town on Saturday after leading 3–2 with seven minutes left, but the point lifts them out of the bottom four to 20th in the Enterprise National League North. They are on 16 points, one above the relegation places.

The Non-League Football Paper reported that Tyler James scored his sixth goal of the season on the stroke of half-time, after Brad Jackson had laid the ball off to him, to level the game at 1–1. According to the BBC’s match events, McCarthy made it 2–2 in the 71st minute and Jon Taylor put Radcliffe 3–2 ahead in the 83rd. The BBC is the only source found for McCarthy’s and Taylor’s goals. The paper made Taylor its star man, and reported that Merthyr’s equaliser came from Margetson in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The BBC gave the attendance as 621.

Radcliffe’s form reads L W W W L D. They won three in a row up to Saturday 24 October, lost 3–0 at home to Chorley on Tuesday 27 October and have now drawn, so they are unbeaten in one. Radcliffe’s own match report said Raglan and Seary were sent off in that game, and no suspension lengths have been found.

They have played 15 league games, winning five, drawing one and losing nine, with 19 goals scored and 27 conceded, a goal difference of minus eight. Their 27 goals conceded are the joint-second most in the division, level with Spennymoor Town and behind only Darlington on 28.

They are level on 16 points with Marine and Merthyr Town, and Radcliffe’s goal difference is the worst of the three, with Marine on minus two and Merthyr on minus four. Scarborough Athletic, who are 21st on 15 points, are one point behind them. Only the champions are promoted automatically, with second to seventh going into the play-offs, and the bottom four are relegated.

Radcliffe have no league game on Saturday 7 November. Their next fixture is at home to Marine in the FA Trophy second round on Saturday 14 November, with kick-off at 15:00 GMT, and it is one of six all-North ties in the round. Marine, who are 18th on 16 points, lost 4–2 at Buxton on Saturday.

AFC Telford United visit in the league on Saturday 21 November, and Radcliffe are at King’s Lynn Town on Tuesday 24 November. Chester are the visitors on Saturday 28 November, before the league game at Harborough Town on Tuesday 1 December, kick-off 19:45 GMT, which has been moved from Saturday 7 November.

Manager Grant Shenton has not been quoted in the reports found. The draw will feel like a lost chance, but the club has climbed out of the bottom four with a point.