Heaton AFC 1–1 Stepney FC: the drawing continues

Match report

Heaton AFC drew again. That is the headline. This one came wrapped in strange packaging: a straight red card before the half hour, a ten man lead past the hour, and an equaliser nine minutes after that. Stepney FC took the point, kept their two point gap over third, and will feel they got away with one.

The evening turned at 29 minutes. Costa Drobnak, whose recent goals arrived in the 90th, 26th and 15th minute, has never been a man for half measures. Here he went one further: a straight red and 61 minutes of football with ten men. For a side drawing everything in sight, the script was already writing itself.

Except it did not follow it. Stepney had a man spare and did little with him. At 71 minutes Heaton took the lead. Hubert Beckford spent the previous two matchdays laying on goals, in the 80th at Marlborough and the 73rd at Llandaff. This time he scored himself, converting Cihan Köprülü's pass. Ten men, a goal up, against the side just above them. It held for ten minutes.

Stepney's answer came at 81 minutes. Mikael Adesanya tends to score early or not at all: his recent goals came in the 4th and 40th minutes. Here he arrived late, took Felipe Mediavilla's ball and levelled, silencing the home end.

The earlier meeting finished 3-1. This one finished 1-1, which suits Heaton's season rather well: another draw, another point, the table largely unmoved. Heaton are third on 50 points, Stepney second on 52, the same two point gap they started the night with.

Both sides are back at it tomorrow. Stepney will hope their good nick holds. Heaton, a man lighter tonight and a point heavier, will hope the drawing stops. One of these days it will. Probably not tomorrow, but one of these days.