Last Gasp Double Sees Ollerton Drop Points!

As the referee's watched ticked to the ninety minute mark, Ollerton Town found themselves in a comfortable position against East Yorkshire Carnegie on Wednesday night, 2-0 ahead thanks to a lovely goal by Sean Dickinson and a 35 yard thunderbolt by Mark Carter. By the time the referee blew for full time however, nobody in the ground could quite believe what they had just seen as East Yorkshire Carnegie scored two late goals to mean the points were shared.
The two teams went into the game level on points and nothing could separate them in the first half either. Both teams had chances to open the scoring but both 'keeper's weren't really tested with neither team being able to really get on top.
There was a sense that the first goal would be crucial and it went Ollerton's way, right at the start of a second half that they would go on to dominate. Lewis Bingham and Gavin King played an intricate one-two on the left of the Carnegie area and when Bingham was put clear, he played the ball across the face of goal to Sean Dickinson who was on hand to slide in his first competitive goal for the club.
With Ollerton's lead still in tact on the hour mark, they made a substitution bringing on Mark Carter for Grant Tobin and Carter would go on to have an almost immediate impact, scoring his side's second two minutes after being introduced. Greg Tobin played the ball across to Carter in a central position 35 yards out and with no body pressuring, he unleashed a fierce shot which flew into the Carnegie net leaving the 'keeper with no chance.
Ollerton were now well and truly in the driving seat and should have scored a third. More intricate passing in the area led to Gav King rounding the 'keeper on the line and being unable to squeeze the ball in from close range, he passed across to Kyle Clarkson who failed to convert from under the bar, some last ditch defending denying the home side.
East Yorkshire Carnegie began throwing more at Ollerton, looking for a way back into the game but Ollerton were looking dangerous on the counter-attack and nearly scored again. Birthday boy Ashley Shannon cleverly beat the offside trap to get on the end of a Lewis Bingham ball but Shannon's backwards, flicked header was well held by the Carnegie stopper.
With the game in it's dying embers, many of the 133-strong crowd were headed for the exits with an Ollerton win seemingly a formality. However on 90 minutes, Carnegie were awarded a freekick in a dangerous position. Michael O'Connell stepped up and in truth, the fact he scuffed his effort worked to his benefit as it looked to be heading for the welcome clutches of Ollerton 'keeper Scott Gretton but at the last second it took a cruel bobble and bounced horribly through Gretton and into the net.
Ollerton will have been disappointed to have lost a clean sheet but with only moments left, they still would have been confident of hanging onto the three points. Momentum was well and truly with Carnegie though and in the 92nd minute, they got their equaliser. Thomas Whiting took a speculative shot from 20 yards out which hit an Ollerton defender and deflected past Gretton's dive.
If Ollerton's goals were pretty then Carnegie's were the exact opposite but it was they who were left celebrating at the final whistle whilst Ollerton were left shell shocked, wondering what on earth had just happened. The pain of losing the lead wasn't helped by the soft and fortuitous manner of the Carnegie goals and the fact that on the balance of play, Ollerton more than deserved the three points.
What's done is done however and Ollerton must now dust themselves off as they look to get back to winning ways on Saturday when they travel to currently unbeaten Knaresborough Town in what promises to be a very tough encounter.