After a crunching 90 minutes it’s honours even as Sittingbourne maintained their increasingly outside Play Off hopes whilst Ashford United lost more ground on runaway leaders Hastings.

Indeed, but for the woodwork, the Brickies could have taken all three points as both Harry Stannard and Lex Allan hit the frame of the Nuts-and-Bolts goal in stoppage time!

Toby Bancroft’s great early strike into the bottom corner gave the Brickies the lead before Ashford levelled when a defensive clearance fell so kindly and Adem Ramadan raced away to equalise in a tight second period before the remarkable finale saw the home side come agonisingly close to winning as firstly Harry Stannard’s shot beat keeper Jordan Carey but came back off the inside of the right post before Lex Allan’s looping header from a last gasp corner came back off the other post.

In recent weeks the home side have been criticised by boss Darren Blackburn for slow starts, but here they roared out of the blocks and took the lead inside the opening ten minutes. Carey’s clearance didn’t go where the Ashford keeper was intended and as it was played into Bancroft, he rifled a low drive into the bottom right-hand corner.

It was the start that Ashford boss Tommy Warrilow was dreading as it came off the back of the previous weekends unexpected home loss to lowly Phoenix Sports, but if he was looking for his side to bounce back, they huffed and puffed to create chances against a Sittingbourne back line superbly marshalled by Eman Dasho and Allan. 

Both sides struggled to come to terms with a cold swirling wind which clearly effected the visitors best chance of the half as a right-wing cross took the ball away from an already stretching Tommy Fagg and he could only steer his header over the bar, whilst at the other end Kane Rowland also saw a header drift wide.

Ashford upped the tempo after the break as they knew that they had to get something out of their trip to Woodstock to keep their fingernails on Hastings’s coattails but were fortunate with their equaliser as it came just after the home side enjoyed a good spell of possession. The Brickies got in a real tangle as they tried to play out from the back and as the visitors pounced, Adem Ramadan was released one on one with keeper Harry Brooks, and the recent signing from Herne Bay kept his nerve to slide the ball wide of the keeper and into the net.

With so much at stake for both sides, the remainder of the game was remarkably open and enjoyable if lacking on clear chances – the hard-working Johan Caney-Bryan went close with a header for Sittingbourne, whilst Ramadan was frustrated by a good block from Dasho for the visitors.

Then in an amazing finale, sub Stannard – who had only been on the pitch a matter of moments – thumped the inside of the Ashford right post with Carey beaten, and the Ashford keeper was thankful to his woodwork for a second time in time added on by Mr McKay when Allan’s looping header from a corner almost apologetically kissed the left post and the visitors just about survived and hacked the danger clear!

Whilst a point each really does either side no favours in their respective challenges for the rest of the season, on the balance of play, it was probably the right result and once again more than highlights just how tight the South East Division has been all season.

SITTINGBOURNE – Brooks, Okoye, Fisher, Miller, Dasho (Stannard), Allan, Sam Flisher, Bancroft (Witt), Rowland, Alex Flisher (Anderson), Caney-Bryan

ASHFORD UNITED – Carey, Ossai (Diallo), Simms, Wisson, Friend, Hull, Trespaderne (Ter Horst), Fagg, Lockyer, Collin, Ramadan

Subs – Hook, Steventon, Hanson

REFEREE – Mr McKay