Peckham twice came from behind to snatch a late point against Stansfeld O&B Reserves at the Menace Arena. For the fifth week running manager Mary Phillip named an unchanged starting XI. Nelson Nunes started in goal with Clayton Ryan and captain Nicky Meta at right and left back respectively. Patrick Yawson and Jeremiah Duah Danso were the two central defenders. Raymond Agyemang took up the anchor man role with Femi Cole and Tidi Barry ahead of him in the middle of the midfield. Camilo Andres Nieva, Gabriel Gomes Souto and Eric Alhassan were the attacking three. On the bench were Chisom Nnadika, Nathan Chris, new signing Abdelrahman Delilache, Anass Ashraf and Joshua Oduwuga.

In a stark contrast to last week, a crowd of 65 came to cheer the Menace on, as many were obviously unaware of the delicious patties now available from the tea bar. The visitors got the game underway, and to use that old cliché the opening few minutes was really end to end stuff. Peckham had a great chance to open the scoring in the third minute but Camilo Andres Nieva scuffed his effort and it was an easy save for the visiting keeper. The visitors however thought they had scored in the 12th minute after their third successive corner. It came after Nelson Nunes saved well, low to his left resulting in the first corner. At the third attempt as the ball found the Stansfeld number 6 in the middle of the 6 yard box he connected well only to see his effort his the bar. It ricocheted down onto the line and then safety into the arms of the Peckham keeper but the visitors were adamant that it has crossed the line the but their protests were firmly waved away by the match official.

The visitors set up for their earlier corners should’ve been a warning for Peckham as they eventually took the lead on 26 minutes from another set piece. Again they had a couple of players around the Peckham keeper and this time it worked as the ball was headed home at the back post by their number 9. Mary Phillip’s team then almost equalised from their own set piece on 39 minutes, but Raymond Agyemang’s free kick went inches over onto the roof of the net, but their perseverance paid off three minutes from the end of normal time in the first half. Raymond Agyemang played the ball out wide to Clayton Ryan and his dummy allowed him to cut inside and head towards the visitors area. He played the ball in towards Gabriel Gomes Souto and after a lucky deflection it found the Peckham striker who took a touch before burying the ball into the Stansfeld goal to level the game on 42 minutes. The Peckham full back will however claim another assist and rightly so. The goal was no more than Peckham had deserved from their performance so far and after three added minutes the first half finished level.

Their late equaliser would have made manager Mary Phillip’s half time team talk a lot easier for certain and the same XI got the second half underway and almost took the lead within seconds of the restart. Eric Alhassan was in on goal but the keeper was quick off of his line and gathered the ball at the second attempt. Peckham had started the second half well and thought they had taken the lead in the 53rd minute after Gabriel Gomes Souto crossed the ball into the area from over on the far side. The ball found Eric Alhassan who took a few touches before squaring it to Tidi Barry who headed it home from six yards out. Their celebrations however were swiftly cut short as, bizarrely the match official gave it offside!

Still aggrieved at the decision, two minutes later Peckham found themselves behind after a mix-up at the back. Under pressure Jeremiah Duah Danso miss-timed his pass back to Nelson Nunes allowing the Stansfeld player to tap the ball into the 6 yard box. With the Peckham keeper way out of position the visitors number 9 was gifted a tap in at the near post to make it 2-1 with 55 minutes played. Manager Mary Phillip’s decided now was the best time for a change and Joshua Oduwuga replaced Gabriel Gomes Souto on 57 minutes. Two minutes later and Anass Ashraf was introduced in place of the skipper, Nicky Meta but his game lasted barely three minutes.

The visitor keeper sent a free kick deep into the Peckham half and the defender was one of three that attempted to head the ball clear. He was sandwiched between a Stansfeld player and Raymond Agyemang and landed awkwardly. There was immediately some concern from all around him and the official immediately signalled for the Peckham physio to attend. It became evident that there was a possible neck injury and after a four minute delay the Peckham defender left the pitch on a stretcher as a precaution to a round of applause, with Chisom Nnadika coming on as his replacement.

A minute later and Peckham should’ve had their equaliser after Raymond Agyemang sent a free kick from the near side deep into the Stansfeld area. The ball eventually found Eric Alhassan 6 yards out at the near post but the Peckham winger couldn’t keep his effort down and put it high over the goal. With just over fifteen minutes to play manager Mary Phillip introduced new signing Abdelrahman Delilache into the mix replacing Clayton Ryan in a straight swap and he looked a very pacey addition immediately causing the visitors issues over on the right flank. Time was quickly running out for Peckham and the frustrations were beginning to show as Tidi Barry went into the book for a late challenge on 88 minutes.

As the clock ticked over into the 90th minute Peckham pounced on a defensive error and were once again level. Jeremiah Duah Danso spotted the run of Eric Alhassan and sent the ball forward from just outside his own area. Spotting the impending danger a Stansfeld midfield lunged towards the ball but instead of clearing it he deflected it over his defenders and into the path of the Peckham winger. Without hesitation, Eric Alhassan took a couple of touches inside the area before planting the ball under the advancing keeper and into the net to make it two a piece, much to the delight of the home supporters.

The game entered added time and due to the earlier injury to Anass Ashraf there was going to be quite a bit. Peckham then had a shout for a late penalty waved away after Camilo Andres Nieva went down after minimal contact from a Stansfeld defender in the 4th added minute. The intent was there from the defender but it wasn’t enough for the official and he gave the visitors a free kick instead. Raymond Agyemang then went into the book in the fifth added minute and from the resulting free kick the visitors almost snatched the win. It took an instinctive point blank save from Nelson Nunes at his near post to deny them certain victory, just one of many saves that earned him the King of the Match award after the final whistle which came less than a minute later.

On reflection a draw was probably a fair result but had Peckham’s ‘offside goal’ been given it may have been a different outcome. The result sees Peckham drop to third place in the table on 23 points, two points behind the top two but having played two games more. I spoke to Anass Ashraf after the game and thankfully there doesn’t seem to be any serious injury to the Peckham defender, which is great to hear. Next week we welcome fifth placed Ide Hill to the Menace Arena looking to continue our unbeaten run, so if you fancy trying out one of our new patties, available in the tea bar, why not come along and you can also cheer on the Menace as well. As always please keep an eye on our social for all the details.

Peckham Town FC (4-1-2-3). Nelson Nunes; Clayton Ryan, Patrick Yawson, Jeremiah Duah Danso, Nicky Meta (c); Raymond Agyemang; Femi Cole, Tidi Barry; Camilo Andres Nieva, Gabriel Gomes Souto, Eric Alhassan.
Subs. Joshua Oduwuga (on for Gabriel Gomes Souto 57’), Anass Ashraf (on for Nicky Meta 59’), Chisom Nnadika (on for Anass Ashraf 67’) & Abdelrahman Delilache (on for Clayton Ryan 74’), Nathan Chris (not used).