A dramatic late goal denied Eastwood CFC all three points as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Skegness Town in a competitive clash at the MKM Stadium.

The managers made three changes from the side that progressed in the FA Cup last weekend. William Robinson and Elijah Morris-Wright were both handed starts while Sam Wilson returned between the sticks. In the absence of Aaron O’Connor Jake Wright took the armband.

The first half saw both teams cancel each other out for long periods, though it was Skegness who came closest to breaking the deadlock. In the 31st minute, the hosts thought they had taken the lead when a powerful header from a corner found the net. However, the referee spotted a push in the build-up and the goal was ruled out, much to the disappointment of the home crowd.

The second half sparked into life as Eastwood began to assert themselves. On 50 minutes, Abdul Saad created the first real opening of the match, pulling the ball back from the left for Noh Abraha, whose close-range effort was brilliantly kept out by the Skegness goalkeeper.

The breakthrough finally came in the 76th minute. Saad again found space on the left flank and whipped in a dangerous cross that wasn’t properly dealt with by the Skegness defence. The ball fell invitingly for Tyler Blake, who produced a spectacular bicycle kick to send the ball into the corner of the net and put Eastwood 1-0 up.

Eastwood looked to have done enough to secure all three points, but late drama was still to come. Deep into added time, Jake Wright was penalised for a foul just outside the box. The resulting free kick deflected off the wall and dropped to Bailey Dilley, who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner, beyond the reach of Sam Wilson.

A hard-fought point for both sides, but Eastwood will feel frustrated not to have seen out the win after such a well-worked opener.

Skegness Town Lineup
1 Jake Lovelace
2 Luke Rayner-Mistry (Johnson 13)
3 Oliver Houlston
4 Connor Marshall (c)
5 Nick Jackson (Radford 34)
6 Bailey Dilley (90+2)
7 Lucas Dakin
8 Liam Adams
16 Luke Horne
10 Jack Boswell (Millar 77)
11 Jordan Smith (Collins 66)

Subs
12 Zane Millar
14 Kyle Radford
15 Declan Johnson
17 Jack Collins
18 Jamie Robinson

Eastwood CFC Lineup
1. Sam Wilson
2. Elijah Morris-Wright
3. William Robinson (Hodgkinson 65)
4. Declan Dunn
5. Phil Watt
6. Jake Wright (c)
7. Terry Hawkridge
8. Jermain Hollis (Tait 85)
9. Tyler Blake (76)
10. Noh Abraha (Commons 85)
11. Abdul Saad

Subs
12. Ryan Tait
14. Finnley Commons
15. Thomas Hodgkinson
16. Harvey Ridgley
17. Alfie Flynn

Attendance: 148

Man of The Match: Elijah Morris-Wright