Late goal denies Ambers victory

The Ambers were denied a successive maximum return on the road by a late Albion Sports equaliser in an entertaining clash which saw the sides share four goals. The home side, looking to ease away from the relegation zone, managed to bring in a couple of players from higher up the pyramid in the shape of keeper Lambton and the influential Moke, and with plenty to play for, they unsurprisingly started the game on the front foot with Berchil drawing an early save at his near post from Ben Townsend.
The Ambers though had a great chance to grab the lead when Kane Reece raced clear beyond the Albion back line but Lambton stood up well to deflect his shot away from danger, and shortly afterwards, the hosts took the lead when Fox broke through down the left and fired an early shot past Townsend.
Handsworth responded well and a good tackle and surge forward by Toby Kenyon resulted in a foul on him just outside the box, Leon Howarth firing the free kick straight into the arms of Lambton. The Lions looked dangerous when going forward down both flanks and Qasim tried his luck twice in quick succession, firstly finding Townsend and then narrowly missing the target before Moke chipped into the hands of a grateful keeper.
The Ambers started to get a grip on their opponents and came back into the game when Howarth picked out Ant Mackie with a fine ball and when the full back played Kenyon in, his cross found Jimmy Eyles in the box but he could only fire over the top as the ball in was slightly behind him and put him off balance. However, two minutes later, he made no mistake when he was on hand again to sweep the ball home after Howarth had raced to the by-line and picked him out in the area.
The visitors finished the half strongly with Eyles volleying over before a 40 yard effort from Sam Fewkes dipped just too late to find the target, and they started the second half in the same vein as a terrific ball from Fewkes picked out Eyles who was denied well by Lambton when he seemed odds on to score.
Albion rallied briefly and a Moke effort was saved by Townsend before The Ambers took the lead. A free kick from Liam McFadyen picked out Eyles in the box and he was unceremoniously bundled over by a Lions defender, with Howarth confidently stroking home the spot kick to take him on to 21 goals for the season.
With time ticking away, it was now or never for the hosts and they really started to apply the pressure. A back header by Qasim threatened the Ambers goal and Fox should then have levelled things up but after racing clear, he mis-fired and the ball flew harmlessly past the far post. But, with seven minutes remaining, the pressure finally paid off, and after an excellent move down the left side, no one tracked the run of Harper and the full back slotted home the equaliser to earn Albion a well deserved share of the spoils.
It’s always disappointing to concede late on but a draw was probably a fair result for both sides and The Ambers now have to wait until next Wednesday to return to action at Bottesford.