EQUALISER THE WHITES
BRADLEY Tarbuck scored a 92nd-minute equaliser to send the home crowd wild as Gosport Borough picked up a deserved point in this clash of the titans.
It looked like the home side were going to drop vital points against their rivals after Josh Hedges had an easy tap-in for the Whites with 90 minutes on the clock.
The away side nearly took the lead in the 12th minute thanks to an effort from Owen Dore. Despite trying to cross a ball into Noah Coppin, the effort instead curled towards the Boro goal. Unsure whether it was dipping enough to land in the net, Toby Steward wasn’t taking any chances and tipped it over.
Just 20 minutes into the game, Salisbury were forced into making an early change. A collision between Rafael Ramos and Harrison Lee left the young goalkeeper heading towards the touchline with Alex Rutter being called upon as the substitute.
After entering the pitch, Ramos tried charging down the substitute before he could get his pass across. Keeping his cool, the shot-stopper smashed the ball away from the danger zone.
With two minutes left of the half, Wayne Robinson had an opportunity. Isolated on the edge of the box, the forward chipped a ball once again heading towards the top corner. Likewise to their previous chances, Steward got back in the nick of time to punch it over the crossbar.
Nicknamed ‘Second half FC’, it proved to be a fitting name once again, as Gosport seemed to have come out a different side. Dan Wooden, leading the attack, switched the ball horizontally into Ramos. Taking a powerful shot, Rutter dived to his right pulling off a great save.
Many times this season Salisbury have found late winners. It looked as though it would happen again when a cross from Dore found Hedges at the back post, who tapped it in to give the Whites the lead.
However, the lead lasted just two minutes. A Harry Kavanagh corner trickled its way to Tarbuck just in front of goal. The winger made no mistake, firing the ball past Rutter.