Rugby Town 1
Pinchbeck United 1
An injury-time penalty left Pinchbeck United “gutted” on Saturday as they were denied a memorable win at Rugby Town.
The Knights led at half-time thanks to an Ollie Maltby finish from a Lee Beeson corner, but Edwin Ahenkorah’s penalty deep into injury time pinched a point for the hosts in the Future Lions UCL Premier Division clash at Butlin Road.
Pinchbeck player/boss Ian Dunn was pleased to see his fifth-placed side perform so well against a side that are the nearest challengers to runaway leaders Daventry Town.
But he admitted that the Knights weren’t happy to leave with a 1-1 draw.
“My overriding feeling is that we’re all gutted,” said Dunn. “We were deservedly 1-0 up and felt comfortable – I didn’t think we were going to concede a goal.
“It was a late, late penalty and I’m gutted because I thought that we were in full control and never really felt threatened.
“They had one long range shot from distance, but apart from that they didn’t really cause us any problems.
“The boys followed the plan to a T, worked really hard and stopped them playing by shutting the space down quickly – I felt that we were the better side.
“We broke a few times in the second half and had a few chances to go and get the second, but I always felt confident that we were going to hang on until the end.
“It was always going to take something like a penalty or a free-kick for them to score a goal and unfortunately the referee thought that it was a penalty.
“It is what it is. To come away from here with a 1-1 draw and be gutted with the result is testament to the players.
“The way we’ve been the last few weeks, with games midweek, we always felt that subs were going to need to make an impact.
“We had to use our subs quite well to help those with tired legs and both Liam Adams and Jordan Nuttell did OK off the bench.
“I think ‘Nutts’ had a good chance which he put over the bar, but we always felt they were going to have an impact and both looked lively.”
On the injury front, defender Stacy Cartwright came off with a tight groin, while Maltby picked up a knock to his knee. Neither is expected to miss too much action.
Meanwhile, Pinchbeck’s game at Peterborough Northern Star on Tuesday night was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
Knights: Lovelace, Wilson, Field, Jackson, Cartwright (Edwards 85), Shipley, Beeson, Vince, West, Maltby (Nuttell 77), Beck (Adams 79). Not used: Ross, Dunn.
Attendance: 215.
