Newport Pagnell 1
Holbeach United 1
Tom Roberts admitted that he and his Holbeach United side left Willen Road with mixed emotions on Saturday.
The Tigers picked up an admirable 1-1 draw at high-flying Newport Pagnell Town to keep their unbeaten start to the ChromaSport UCL Premier Division season going.
But they had looked like returning home with all three points thanks to Tyler Wright’s 22nd-minute header.
Holbeach held that lead all the way up until seven minutes from time when Adam Pryke powered home a back-post header from a corner to earn second-placed Pagnell a point.
It got worse for the Tigers too, with striker Josh Ford later given his marching orders for picking up two innocuous yellow cards.
Player/boss Roberts accepted that he’d have taken a draw before a ball was kicked, but felt the win was there for the taking.
He said: “It’s a funny one. Obviously I said that we’d be happy with a point before the game, so you have to be pleased to get one.
“But to concede a late equaliser from a corner makes it hard to be happy.
“We only have ourselves to blame. We controlled the game well for the most part, but shut down in the last ten minutes and invited the pressure from Pagnell.
“We gave away far too many corners and set-pieces and eventually one went in.
“It’s a shame, to win there would have a been a big result for us.
“We’re still unbeaten, but it’d be nice to start turning a few draws into wins.
“As for Fordy’s red card, it’s hard to comment. All I’ll say is that there wasn’t a lot in either card and he didn’t put in a bad tackle all game.”
Travelling with a depleted squad, Holbeach faced early pressure and were indebted to a goalline clearance from Nick Jackson.
They soon got into their stride, however, and took the lead on 22 minutes when Wright met a cross at the back post with a clever header that went back across the keeper.
Holbeach held firm from then on, with the team defending well as a unit.
But they came unstuck from a corner, with Pryke climbing highest at the back post late on.
Ford’s second yellow for blocking the keeper taking a kick, came soon after.
His first yellow was for kicking the ball away.
The draw is Holbeach’s third from their first eight matches.
They visit Harrowby United tonight (Tuesday, 7.45pm).
Tigers: Drury, Walton, A Jackson, Tinkler, N Jackson, Stevens, Eyett (Grimwood), Warfield, Ford, Thomas, Wright. Not used: Roberts, Cundy, Harker, Davies.
Attendance: 93.
