Late equaliser denies Holwell a thrilling win

This match was turned on its head when Holwell fought back from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 but they had to settle for a share of the spoils after a late equaliser.

Sports started sluggishly and were punishedin the 22nd minute when Tom Watsonfired a superb shot from 25 yards which went in off a post.

Their task got even tougher 10 minutes later when Alex Purkis tripped a home forward after being beaten for pace and the referee pointed to the spot.

Jordan Whitehead drove home the penalty to give his side a firm grip on proceedings.

Holwell showed real resillience, however by fighting their way back into the contest by half-time.

Four minutes before the interval Michael Stevenson sent Julian Joachim through and he won a foot race with a defender before slotting past the onrushing goalkeeper.

And it got even better for Sports in first half injury time following a good team move.

Graham Wells picked the ball up on the edge of the penalty area before rounding the custodian and firing into the net.

The match was fairly even in the second half but it was Holwell who struck first, midway through the half, to set up an unlikely victory.

A cross came in from the right and Well went up to challenge for the ball with the goalkeeper and a central defender.

The ball dropped nicely for Wells to tap into the net.

The official waved away protests from the hosts who accused Wells of committing a foul.

Holwell kept their hosts at bay thereafter and appeared to be heading for a valuable three points in their quest to move away from the lower reaches of the East Midlands Counties League premier division table.

But disaster struck with just eight minutes left on the clock.

A cross from the left by Gedling substitute Mark Ballard drifted over the Holwell goalkeeper and into the net at the far post.

It was bitterly disappointing for the visitors but manager Simon Daws said he could not complain about the final result.

He said: “When I was sitting there at 2-0 down in the first half I was thinking it was all over.

“When the lads got in the dressing room after pulling those goals back I told them they had saved themselves a rollocking.

“We were too tired to come back when they equalised at the end but I was pleased with the way we fought back.

“You could say it was two points dropped because we were leading near the end but after going two-down early on it was a good point and probably a fair result in the end.”

Holwell Sports: Barnard, Bitmead, Chapman, Hallam, Joachim, Purkis, Ridout, Smith, Stevenson, Wells, Wood. Substitutes - Corkett, Harris.

l Holwell Sports Reserves slipped to a 7-0 home defeat to Highfield Rangers on Saturday. Celson Patrochinio netted four of the goals to leave Sports still without a win this season.