A bizarre stoppage time own goal means that Deal Town’s SCEFL Championship champagne is still on ice as Lordswood secured a very late midweek point at Martyn Grove.
With the visitors leading 2-1 into stoppage time, a corner into the Deal box caused mayhem and as a defender tried to clear the ball cannoned off a teammate and rolled over the line for an unlikely and strange equaliser on a bizarre Medway night all round.
It began as it ended in bizarre fashion as Deal arrived in Medway with their amber and purple away kit which was a direct clash with the home sides amber and black forcing Lords to swap to their blue away kit, which in itself caused no end of confusion when the two sides lined up before the game for the neutrals in the 210 crowd.
The visitors started with the intention of finishing the season’s job on the spot as they dominated the early chances – Jamie Kennedy having a header magnificently saved by Aaron Lee-Wharton before the same played missed his kick in front of goal after a terrific run down the right by Tom Chapman.
It was something of a surprise then on the half hour when the home side took the lead against the run of play when Callum Peck was played through, the flag stayed down, and Peck coolly clipped the ball past the advancing Adam Molloy and into the net.
The leaders though responded how you would expect from Champions elect – quickly and efficiently – and were behind for just six minutes. Tom Champman (who was a thorn in the home side all night) was played through and he too kept his composure to beat the advancing Lee-Wharton to level the scores.
The Deal winger was then denied a second by a smart stop from the home keeper, who’s half was to end diastrously as in stoppage time a routine catch from a corner wasn’t taken and Billy Munday was on hand to hammer the ball home to give Deal a half time lead that they probably just about deserved as Lee-Wharton turned from saviour to villain!
After the break, it became a question of Deal defending what they had, whilst their forays forward carried more of a cutting edge than the home sides, with the best chance until the closing stages falling to substitute Aaron Millbank whose effort was blocked with Ashley Miller drilling the ball into the side netting.
Just as seven minutes of stoppage time was being signalled, Millbank appeared to be brought down only for referee Donnelly (who was excellent throughout) to wave away appeals as again Miller hit the loose ball into the side netting. Then came the bizarre end as Lordswood’s last corner of the game saw an attempted Deal clearance cannon past a helpless Molloy to level the scores.
In a season where there have been more twists to this promotion race than Agatha Christie at her best, the visitors came within the width of a post in the final seconds of getting the three points they needed, but the effort came back off the frame of the goal and into Lee-Wharton’s grateful arms.
So, the champagne goes back on ice until Saturday at least when Steve King’s side welcome Scott Porter’s Play Off chasing Lydd Town to the Charles Ground still needing just one more win from now the final five games of their long season for their first title in nearly a quarter of a century.
LORDSWOOD – Lee-Wharton, Miles, Risdon (Chandler), Stroutts, Keyte, Plummer (Green), Emptage (Cotton), Dawodu, Gething (Apena), Midson (Reid), Peck
DEAL TOWN – Molloy, Reeves, Penny, Niblett, Foster, Munday, Tom Chapman, Murray, Kennedy (Smith), Ben Chapman (Millbank), Miller
Subs – Earh, Oni
REFEREE – Mr Donnelly