HEDDON UNITED 2
PRUDHOE YC SENIORS RESERVES 2
One minute of stoppage time separated Heddon United from inflicting a first defeat of the season on Prudhoe YC Seniors Reserves in the Marsh Insurance Northern Alliance Third Division on a windswept Saturday afternoon at Walbottle Academy.
Still trailing 2-0 after an hour and down to 10 men since the 35th minute following Kieran Baptist's dismissal, the visitors pulled a goal back on 61 minutes before snatching a point with a dramatic 92nd-minute equaliser from Matty Mitchell.
Heddon United were without last week's hat-trick hero Michael Wright who was on holiday, while Prudhoe showed three changes to the side that had started against Whickham FC Reserves with Jorge Ortega, David Mitchell and David Burns replaced by Jay Stafford, Josh Darby and Callum Hogarth.
Kicking off with a strong wind at their backs, the hosts started brightly and enjoyed the lion's share of possession and territory in the first 10 minutes.
After driving into the box from the left, Phil Robson's angled strike bounced off the chest of keeper Sam Harrison before being gathered safely.
A lob over the top was calmly nodded back to Harrison by Shaun Anderson with winger Harvey Ridley on the full-back's shoulder ready to pounce, and their first corner was headed off target.
At the other end, a couple of Darby's trademark long throws delivered with laser-like precision into the six-yard box came to nothing.
Their best move inside the opening 20 minutes involving Steven Forster, John Keltie and Stafford ended with Shaun Tinnion's effort from an acute angle being saved by Geovanny Lagunas.
The hosts were soon back in the ascendancy, forcing a second corner from which the ball was fed to Lewis Waters who sent a dipping shot narrowly wide of Harrison's left-hand post, and their next attack on 24 minutes brought a deserved opener from 17-year-old centre forward Kai Gibson.
The visitors' defence was carved open down the left and Robson had time to look up before squaring for Gibson to coolly slot home inside Harrison's right-hand post (1-0).
On a rare visit into the Heddon half, a looping header was gathered under the bar by Lagunas who had little else to do before the break other than getting down low at his near post to save a Callum Hogarth shot.
A couple of wind-assisted shots and a long-range free-kick sailed over the Prudhoe bar shortly before the visitors' central defender Kieran Baptist, 21, was shown a red card by referee Rhys Walker for a lunging, mistimed tackle on full back Lewis Phillipson.
On 40 minutes, Ridley's strike from the right corner of the box was saved by Harrison and, soon after, a marginal offside call ruled out a second goal for Gibson, who had latched on to a through ball and fired home after Matty Mitchell had been dispossessed 10 yards outside the box.
Heddon started the second half in similar fashion to the first, calm in possession and quick to get on the front foot.
Robson's dipping angled strike from outside the box on the left bounced in front of Harrison and was spilled before being gathered at the second attempt, and a well worked move started inside their own box ended with Gibson unselfishly squaring to an unmarked Waters who blazed over.
Heddon's domination since the re-start was rewarded with a second goal in the 55th minute from Conor Higgins.
A deep delivery from a corner on the right came to nothing but, after regaining possession, a ball fed in low into the box from the other flank wasn't dealt with by a static Prudhoe defence and although Higgins' initial close range effort was blocked by Harrison the rebound was a simple tap-in for his 18th goal of the season in all competitions (2-0).
Out of nothing and against the run of play, Prudhoe pulled a goal back in the 61st minute through Stafford.
A wind-assisted free-kick, launched into the box from just inside their own half on the left, dropped at the feet of Keltie who controlled it well before squaring to Stafford who fired home from close range (2-1).
That goal seemed to galvanise Prudhoe, who now literally had the wind in their sails and the crossbar twice came to the rescue of the hosts in the space of five minutes as they struggled to deal with Darby's long throws.
Both sides brought on fresh legs from the bench during the second period, but it would be fair to say the contributions made by the visitors' replacements were more noticeable as the pendulum started to swing in their favour.
Darby's Exocet missiles continued to be a potent weapon, and the hosts somehow survived more goalmouth scrambles without conceding.
As the clock ticked down towards the end of normal time, a rare Heddon counter-attack ended with a 25-yard Higgins strike, that was curling into the top corner, being palmed away by Harrison at full stretch.
The visitors then scored a dramatic 92nd minute equaliser to extend their season-long unbeaten run to 22 games.
Second half substitute David Mitchell's long-range free-kick fired low into the box was helped on its way by Matty Michell's improvised volley, with the ball flying off his boot into the roof of the net to the left of Lagunas despite his best efforts to keep it out (2-2).
With only two league games to play and still unbeaten, this season has exceeded all expectations for Prudhoe YC Seniors Reserves manager Tommy Clasper, who is frustrated that their next match against AFC Newbiggin Reserves is not until March 29.
Heddon United boss Liam Duffy plans to switch one or two more home games from the 3G to the adjoining grass pitch before they face North Shields Athletic Reserves in the Neville Cowey Cup Final at Forest Hall FC on March 27.
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