Leiston 2 - 2 Grays Athletic

On a heavy pitch neither team could settle to play the kind of football both teams are capable of, and the early exchanges were reduced to long ball tactics to try to counter-act the conditions.

It was a quick run by David Cowley that saw the first chance when he made space to rattle the bar with a solid shot, but then the game settled into a midfield tussle with both teams relying on the quick break. Rhys Henry ran clear of the Blues defence but the ball was long and cleared by the boot of Andy Hall.

In an end-to-end period the errors were creeping in for both sides as the players slipped on the surface, and it was a mistake by Paul Olima that let Pat Brothers through and Hall managed to hold his shot on goal. Leiston were starting to push forward and a firm header by Dave Head just went over the bar and Henry hit a shot high over the bar as the Blues tried to calm their lines.

Midway through the half Joao Carlos picked up a pass from Harry Agombar to run at the home defence and was brought down for a penalty, which was converted by Agombar, to give Grays the lead against the run of play. Leiston attacked to try to level the game as they poured pressure on the Blues defence and two headed chances by Leon Gooch stamped their intentions and a good save by Hall from a Henry shot kept Grays in the half. A last break by Cowley saw Joe Sweeney move forward but the ball held up on the sticky pitch and his weak pass to Carlos was cleared as he lost control in the dying minutes of the period.

Leiston started the second half determined to take the game forward and a quick run and cross by Brothers saw Nathan Stone adjudged offside when clear. Heath then released Brothers for his cross to pass though the crowded penalty area as the Blues were on the back foot. A long clearance was picked up by Olima and his accurate pass arrived at the feet of a fast moving Anthony Ryan for him to tip the ball past Johnson to double the Blues advantage with half hour to go.

Grays started to play some good passing football and Sweeney ran onto an Agombar pass but could not control the ball when in space which was his last touch as he was replaced by Jared Small. Leiston came back into the half and a run through the defence by Stone saw a well-timed tackle by Olima hold up the move but the drama was still to come.

Agombar and Cowley were replaced by Kenny Beaney and Danny Bunce, and this seemed to unbalance Blues’ rhythm as Leiston upped their pace and looked assured. Brothers found space and a cross came in for Craig Pope to clear, but the ball came back to Brothers for his cross to find Henry clear to slot the ball home to half the arrears.

Grays almost put the game out of reach when Ryan ran free through a long pass but saw his half hit shot roll disappointingly wide. With five minutes left on the clock, and with the Blues under severe pressure, Brothers broke clear of his marker to cross into the box. A misunderstanding in the area saw the ball drop to the feet of Henry and his shot from close range found the back of the net to level the scores.

The Blues held on as Leiston chased the winner but the referee finished an entertaining half with Leiston on the ascendancy.

Grays Athletic: - Andy Hall, Lee Flynn, Paul Olima, Junior Baker, Craig Pope, Joao Carlos, Harry Agombar (Kenny Beaney 70), Stanley Muguo, David Cowley (Danny Bunce 75), Anthony Ryan, Joe Sweeney (Jared Small 62)

Subs not used: - Joe McEvoy, Jean-Michel Sigere.

Report by Steve Allen.