Late goals cost Melton Town points as six-goal thriller is drawn

Two late goals from Aylestone Park completed an unlikely comeback as Melton Town surrendered a 3-1 lead in the final 10 minutes of Saturday’s 3-3 Leicestershire Senior League draw.

Jack Hickey had netted a hat-trick but a late sin-binning for captain Cam Gilchrist proved costly.

The hosts had the first chance of the match when their first corner found Cameron Tansley unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box, but he fired over the bar.

Oliver Keeber then tried his luck from distance, with his effort going just wide.

Against the run of play, Melton took the lead.

A poor clearance from Aylestone keeper Spencer Stacey went straight to Tom Wakely, who quickly found Jack Hickey on the edge of the D.

Hickey took one step before firing a superb shot in off the post.

Just 17 minutes had been played and Melton doubled their lead.

The Aylestone defence were suddenly in panic, allowing Wakely to steal possession before again finding Hickey, who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner.

Melton were now dominating the match.

Halfway through the first half, a one-two between Hickey and Ollie Pearce-Smith saw the latter beat Samson Tiku before sending a low cross into the box. Wakely got a touch on the ball, forcing the keeper into a point-blank save.

Aylestone threatened on the break when Shamil Ivankov carried the ball for 20 yards before slipping in Bayem Onelum, but his eventual shot was well saved by Harrison Eley-Gaunt.

In the 35th minute, Pearce-Smith went on another run down the wing, beating Tiku for pace before firing a low shot from a tight angle which needed a good save at the near post.

Aylestone immediately went up the other end and Dahibi, from near the touchline, played a ball across the box. Ivankov latched onto it and planted his shot into the bottom corner to reduce the deficit.

However, Melton restored their two-goal advantage right on half-time.

Hickey stepped up to take a free kick and produced a superb strike into the top corner to complete his first-half hat-trick.

The first chance of the second half saw Rocco Moroni's corner find Dahibi unmarked at the back post, but his shot was blocked on the line.

Hickey then sent a long diagonal cross into the area which picked out Wakely, but his header went the wrong side of the bar.

Two minutes later, a through ball found Hickey and his first-time shot smashed against the foot of the post.

In the 56th minute, Onelum went on a run before finding Harry Smith on the penalty spot, but a superb sliding block from Tom Rood prevented a certain goal.

Aylestone were unlucky not to score again in the 70th minute when Labide Ahmada beat two defenders before picking out Smith in the box, only for his shot to smash against the post.

Melton responded with a counter-attack which saw Harry Clarke run through the centre of midfield before trying his luck from 25 yards. His effort needed a diving save from the keeper to push the ball around the post.

Then, in the 81st minute, an incident changed the whole look of the game.

A bad tackle on Gilchrist left the Melton defender on the ground for around three minutes receiving treatment.

The Aylestone player received a yellow card, but Gilchrist felt the punishment was not enough and was subsequently sin-binned for the remainder of the match.

Aylestone now had a man advantage and immediately made it count. A ball was played in from the right and Ahmada was on hand to tap home and make it 3-2.

Minutes later, another ball from the right found Kayson Dawodu in front of goal, but his shot hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced clear.

Then, with just two minutes remaining, another ball from the right found Hassan Barreh, whose touch took a deflection and saw the ball creep into the net to complete an unlikely comeback.

Melton played some of their best football of the season and for 80 minutes completely dominated the match.

But a lack of discipline in the closing stages cost them dearly as Aylestone Park somehow rescued a point.

Melton are now four games unbeaten and will look to continue that run when they travel to Highfield Rangers on Saturday.