Late penalty rescues a point for lacklustre FC

An injury-time penalty from Nathan George rescued a point for Biggleswade FC in a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Holmer Green on Saturday.
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After seeing off Harpenden last time out, FC would have harboured hopes of securing back-to-back Langford Road victories in three days, but it wasn’t to be as a lacklustre showing saw them get out of jail with a share of the spoils.

It took FC a good 20 minutes to get going as play often broke down after two or three passes. Neither side really looked like taking the game by the scruff of the neck until Lawrie Marsh burst into the box with a nice touch and cross following a good pass from Adam Hunt, but his teasing low ball in eluded everyone.

A succession of corners failed to trouble the Holmer Green keeper with a Lee Northfield skewed half volley from a Ryan Inskip ball in the closest FC came to scoring up to this point.

As is normally always the case, FC had plenty of possession, but there was a lack of energy and purpose about their play.

Holmer Green weren’t offering much from open play, but a rare counter attack had one of their forwards in behind though the resulting shot was well off target. Their main threat was from set pieces and Dan Green made a superb save from a towering header leading up to half time, but the follow up was somehow hooked over.

The visitors then grabbed the lead on 58 minutes. It appeared all too easy as they worked their way through the middle and the lack of a challenge and unsuccessful appeals for offside enabled them to steer the ball past Green from just inside the box.

The home side responded with a sweeping move from right to left. Ryan Inskip fed the ball out to Pat McCafferty, he jinked inside before slipping the ball into Northfield, but his cross from the byline was well-blocked.

Management duo Dave Northfield and Mark Inskip threw on Tom Coles in place of Joel Ives and within minutes he had tested the frame of the goal. It looked like a speculative long range effort from the former Eynesbury Rovers man and it appeared the Holmer Green keeper thought so too as he looked to see it wide of the target. However, he got a bit of a shock when the ball cannoned back off his post.

Adam Hunt and Justin Leavers had half chances in the closing stages, but it really looked like the home side were going to draw a blank.

Holmer Green wasted a glorious chance with three minutes to go to wrap up the points, but their unmarked player at the far post could only hit the side netting with Dan Green narrowing the angle.

They were made to rue that chance when FC were awarded a 92nd minute penalty. After working the ball out to the right hand side, the cross appeared to have been blocked by the arm of a defender. The assistant referee certainly thought so and signalled the infringement to the referee.

The ever-reliable Nathan George who sent the keeper the wrong way from the resulting penalty.

Next up for Biggleswade FC is the visit of ninth-place Edgware Town to Langford Road on Thursday evening (7.45pm KO) before they travel to second-place Berkhamsted on Saturday (3pm KO).