JOHNSON’S MAGIC JUST NOT ENOUGH

ANDREW Johnson’s superb second half strike forced a replay against National League South side East Thurrock.

Lewis Smith gave John Coventry’s side the lead after 29 minutes when he deflected Sam Higgins’ strike past a wrong-footed Jordan Porter.

Spennymoor were frustrated for large parts of the game, but a moment of magic from Johnson, who has found the net in three of the four rounds of the FA Trophy this season, curled in an exquisite equaliser 25 minutes from time.

The travelling Southern side posed the biggest threat in the first half, and soon after Smith opened the scoring, Higgins smashed an effort against the bar, before Max Cornhill dragged a shot wide from eight yards out.

Moors were livid when the referee failed to award them a spot-kick for a push on Glen Taylor just inside the area, but they almost levelled on the brink of half-time, only for Johnson to see his header cleared off the line.

Jason Ainsley opted to take off Jamie Chandler and bring on striker Bradley Fewster ten minutes into the second half, and that decision proved pivotal as Moors began to dominate proceedings.

With the added firepower of Fewster, East Thurrock began to sit deep, and when Johnson found space on the edge of the box, he bent an inch-perfect shot past Lukas Lidakevicius.

The visitors were reduced to ten men with ten minutes remaining when Michael Clark scythed down Fewster, but Moors couldn’t find the winner and face a long trip to Essex on Tuesday night.