LAST-GASP EGAN IS THE HERO FOR THE MAGPIES
AN INJURY-TIME equaliser from fullback Kyle Egan earned 10-man Dorchester Town a point at the expense of Chesham United.
The visitors will look back at several good chances wasted to double their tally, which kept the door open for a late Magpies rally.
The match sprung to life in the tenth minute when a through ball from Adam Watkins was chased by Lewis Toomey, whose run was impeded by Dorchester keeper Chris Weale, who promptly received a red card from referee Lewis Sandoe for denying a goal scoring opportunity.
Newly-signed former AFC Bournemouth youth keeper Chad Collins replaced Tom Blair and was immediately rescued by the crossbar as David Hutton’s free-kick rattled the woodwork.
But the reprieve didn’t last long as an angled, floated shot from Toomey flew over Collins to give Chesham a lead they rarely looked like losing.
There were 25 minutes on the clock before Generals keeper Hamid Al’Droubi made his first save, cutting out a looping header from Neil Martin.
Watkins nearly added a second when his low shot looped up off Collins and struck the crossbar and although the rebound was netted by Joe Iaciofano, his effort was ruled out for offside.
Oran Swales then had a shot blocked by Ross Carmichael on the Dorchester goalline while a header from Iaciofano was saved by Collins.
After the break, Carmichael cleared over his own crossbar to deny Hutton while Iaciofano sent a close-range effort against the post. Despite not adding to their tally, Chesham looked certain to keep a clean sheet.
The only effort of note from the Magpies was a long-range one from Dom Panesar-Dower, which dipped just over the bar.
But in the second and last minute of added time, the Magpies mustered one last push, from which they forced a dramatic late equaliser.
Billy Lowes, substitute Tom Bearwish and Martin combined, with the latter’s shot falling to Egan who showed great composure to turn and rifle a low shot under Al’Droubi to earn his team a share of the spoils.
“I couldn’t fault the effort to get a draw after playing with ten men for 82 minutes,” said Dorchester manager John Thompson. “It does feel like a win.” STAR MAN: Ross Carmichael (Dorchester) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★