Lee Hawkins earns Holyport FC a point
Sportsdesk • Published 10 Jan 2012 15:14
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A SPIRITED Holyport FC side fought back from two goals behind in the second-half to earn at point from the visit of Wantage Town on Saturday.
Wantage looked set for consecutive Hellenic Premier wins over the Villagers, having recorded a 2-1 home win back in Auguest, when goals either side of half-time from Richard Claydon put daylight between the two sides during a match played against a constant stiff breeze at Summerleaze.
However the inform Jamie Handscomb and new signing Lee Hawkins netted to earn the hosts a deserved point and extend Holyport's current unbeaten league to five.
Derek Sweetman's newly-promoted side sit a modest 13th in the table but the recent turnaround in form has propelled them well clear of the threat of relegation.
Jamie Wright thought he had given the Villagers an early lead but his effort was disallowed for offside.
And it was Wantage who eventually broke the deadlock in the 20th minute when Tom Butler's perfectly flighted free-kick was met unchallenged by Claydon to head home.
Wright missed a clear cut opportunity on 35 minutes and Dan Rapley was denied an equaliser moments before the break by the brilliance of Town goalkeeper Gareth Tucker.
Holyport were punished for their in-accuracy in front of goal less than a minute after the restart when Claydon intercepted and guided a weak back pass past Warren Carter.
But Sweetman's men responded immediately to pull one back when Handscomb showed the compusre in front of goal that has made him one of the club's star players this season.
Pressing for an equaliser the Villagers boss gave Hawkins a debut from the substitutes bench and the former Cookham Dean midfielder repaid his new manager's faith with a superb 25-yard lob to level the match.
Both sides squandered chances to take all three points late on, firstly Tucker producing another brilliant save on 73 minutes before Niall Hodgkins drove over the Holyport crossbar.
The Villagers bid to extend their current impresive run on Saturday when they make the short trip to Henley Town (3pm) looking to reverse October's 2-1 defeat.
Holyport then turn their attentions to cup action on Tuesday night with a Berks & Bucks Senior Trophy quarter-final at Wantage (7:45pm).
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