WALLINGTON came close to toppling league leaders Newcastle University in the Northern Alliance Premier Division on Saturday.

They took the lead twice in the fixture, at Prudhoe’s Kimberly Park, where the Uni are playing their home games this season.

But despite conceding an equaliser around the 80-minute mark, the Greens came away with a point more than most teams have managed during the campaign.

The Uni hit the crossbar from a corner, before taking a first half lead following a quickly taken free kick. The ball was crossed into the box, and was fired home after a knock down.

Wallington, who had created a limited number of chances in the first half, turned the game on its head with two quick goals early in the second period.

After going up for a corner, centre back Jonny Edwards found himself picking up the ball in a wide right position. His ball into the box was met by Simon Farrier, who prodded it home at the near post.

Two minutes later, a long throw-in by Justin Millican was flicked on by Adam Barker, and John Paxton got in front of a defender to bundle the ball past the keeper.

The Uni responded, and after Greens keeper Aaron Carr got down well to save a header from a corner, the hosts scored from the rebound.

Not to be deterred, the visitors took the lead again on 70 minutes, this time from a counter attack. Simon Farrier took advantage of a breakdown in communication between goalkeeper and defender before finishing from an acute angle near the byline, as the ball looked to be rolling out of play, to make it 3-2.

The home side were always a threat, however, and equalised with around 10 minutes to go when a cutting through ball split the Wallington defence, and their striker made no mistake in finding the net.

“We’ve played the league leaders away and took a point which is a huge positive,” said Wallington midfielder Kyle Reardon.

“Having took the lead twice, we could have won it, but they are a quality side.

“We can take a lot of confidence and belief from this result, and hopefully build on it and finish the season on a high.”

Another tough challenge awaits Wallington on Saturday, when they host second placed AFC Killingworth, who are six points behind the Uni, with two games in hand.

“It’s another test for us,” said Reardon, “we are looking forward to the challenge.”