Pinchbeck United 3
Desborough Town 3
Bemused boss Ian Dunn bemoaned a “laughable” refereeing decision as his Pinchbeck United side were held to a thrilling 3-3 draw by Desborough Town in the Future Lions UCL Premier Division on Saturday.
Aidan Bradshaw gave visitors Desborough a fourth-minute lead at the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field, but strikes from Fraser Bayliss (10) and Andrew Tidswell (26) put Pinchbeck into a 2-1 half time lead.
Jason Turner’s penalty on the hour levelled matters once again, but Ollie Maltby gave the Knights a 3-2 lead with a penalty of his own.
Jordan Henson then managed to level (78) for Desborough, while the returning Tony Edwards was sent off for Pinchbeck after lunging in late on.
But there was still time for a controversial late decision, as Lee Beeson was clearly hacked down in the box with seconds remaining.
Dunn is adamant that it was a penalty – insisting that the Desborough players and management knew they they’d got away with murder.
“When you see the opposition players laughing after the final whistle, you know you’ve been wronged,” admitted the Pinchbeck player/boss. “I think everyone in the ground, other then the officials, knew that it was a penalty for us.
“It was very blatant and it’s laughable that it wasn’t given, if I’m honest. It was in the 93rd minute, so you’d have a chance to win the game. What frustrated me even more was that their penalty was harshly awarded, too.
“I could also argue that Tony (Edwards) was sent off for a tackle that was the same as a tackle one of their players was booked for. All you ask for is consistency – and we didn’t get that, sadly.
“However, you have to give credit to Desborough. They punished every mistake we made. They are an established UCL Premier Division side for a reason and drawing against them is no disgrace.
“Before the game I asked for the lads to go out and add goals to our game. We managed three – but that coincided with us shipping a few more than usual.
“I suppose that’s the difference at this level; if you make a mistake, you’ll get punished for it.”
The draw leaves the Knights second in the table and maintains their remarkable record of not losing in 34 UCL league games.
Pinchbeck: A Smith, Beeson, Wilson, Field, Gardner (Ogden 69); Bishop (Edwards 78), Shipley, Tidswell, Maltby, Nuttell (Sergeant 46), Bayliss. Not used: Josh Smith, Lovelace.
Attendance: 69.
