Wellsford Athletic 2–2 Wessex United: a late reversal

Match report

Wessex, with their gentle mid-table drift, took the lead on 36 minutes. Lansana Berhe-Tewelde, who has been finding a yard of space all season, met Borja Morales-Otero's pass with a finish that suggested he has been taking notes from his own recent form. The away end was still adjusting its scarf when Dikeledi Ayodele-Olufemi restored parity two minutes later, arriving at the back post to turn in Gernot Lechner-Vogel's centre. Two goals in 120 seconds, the second of which rather undid all of Wessex's early territorial dominance.

Wellsford, second and playing like a side who had been told the title race could be decided by goal difference, ought to have pushed on. Instead, they allowed Lawrence Dollman to remind them of the gap in class. His 78th-minute strike, again set up by the persistent Morales-Otero, looked to have settled it. The home crowd, sensing a draw was the least their team deserved, had barely started their slow handclap.

Then, with two minutes remaining, Hugh Endecott decided he had seen enough. His equaliser, a calm finish after a neat one-two with Femi Kabongo-Mukendi, was his first of the season. It said nothing for the play that had gone before, but it rather summed up the afternoon. The game was a microcosm of the season: Wessex blowing hot and cold in the same half, Wellsford unable to shake the sense of a ceiling.

The draw does little for either side's trajectory. Wellsford remain second, Wessex drift along in eleventh, and both will have a day to reset before Matchday 29 brings its own small mercies.