McDonagh grabs crucial point

A LATE goal from Puritans substitute Conor McDonagh grabbed the visitors a point when it looked like the hosts had done enough to claim all three from a battling home performance.

It was a topsy turvy game that could have gone either way as both teams produced good attacking football at times in the contest.

A Rooney-esque goal from Rogan McGeorge set the Ives on the road.

He fired a poor clearance straight back over the head of the Puritans keeper Jack Harding from fully 45 yards in only the second minute.

The hosts doubled their advantage after 25 minutes as Ollie Snaith capped a lively debut with a well taken header from Ben Seymour-Shove’s teasing cross from the right.

The evergreen Jefferson Louis got the visitors back in the game ten minutes before the break as he kept alive a Tom Winters’ cross at the back post and home keeper Tim Trebes could only parry his low driven effort into the path of Jack Self who fired home from close range.

Snaith had the opportunity to kill the game off when he got through one on one with keeper Harding 20 minutes from time, but a slightly heavy touch allowed the visitors custodian to bravely block the effort at point blank range.

With McGeorge and skipper Tom McGowan constantly has- sling the Puritans midfield and Snaith a jack in the box harrying their back line throughout it looked like a vital three points in the bag until McDonagh pounced onto a Louis flick to grab his side a hard earned point.

It was tough to take so late in the game but probably deserved as both teams showed their class and quality at times in what proved an entertaining game.