Town thriller ends with late Hall equaliser

Whether it was meant to be a shot or indeed a cross, Hall’s late strike threw a spanner in the works of title-chasing Biggleswade, who lost ground on leaders Tring Athletic after their 4-1 win over bottom club Stotfold.

Town meanwhile have their eyes on a top-half finish as they remain 11th in UCL Premier Division.

After the disappointment of their midweek 1-0 defeat to lowly North Greenford United, Town were eager to bounce back but knew they would have a battle on their hands against the promotion chasers.

The visitors went closest in the early exchanges, when Yusef Seodi and Tom Bryant twice cleared headers off the goal line from a corner, while Town’s chances were few and far between.

It was proving to be a busy afternoon for Wyant, denying Lee Northfield and Tom Cookman with fine saves. At the other end, Yusef Seodi blasted an effort over the bar for Town, and Ross Adams’ shot was well-saved by Dan Child.

Chances continued to come and go at both ends in a thrilling battle which somehow ended 0-0 at the break.

A few minutes into the second half and FC thought they had the lead. Nick Henebrey rifled home from close range but the linesman had his flag up on the far side.

However, just two minutes later, they did take the lead when Ryan Inskip was found in space at the far post and he finished well past Wyant to put the visitors ahead.

Wyant was back amongst the action just moments later, when Northfield fired fiercely at him, but he palmed it away with relative ease.

It was still end-to-end, but Town were looking the most dangerous going into the latter periods of the game, with Fredericks, Osborne and Seodi working tirelessly in the centre of the park.

Town drew level with 10 minutes to go when centre back Dave Murphy powerfully headed Hall’s inviting cross past Child.

But there was plenty of late drama still to come. With five minutes remaining, substitute Abraham Eze got past Tom Bryant and squared to Northfield, who tucked it home, sparking exuberant scenes by the FC dugout as they thought they had done enough to win it.

But just three minutes later, Hall rescued a point for Leighton. Whether he meant it as a shot or a cross, his ball into the mix sailed over Childs’ head and into the top corner to level things at 2-2.

And with the wind in their sails, Town still had chances to go on and win it when Ross Adams broke clear from the FC defence but could not get a shot away, before Jordan Fredericks forced Childs into another save as the final whistle blew.

Town are on the road at Edgware Town next week.