Late disappointment for Peterborough Sports on night of stunning goals

Manager Jimmy Dean will almost certainly see the result as two points dropped for his side considering they lead by two at the break against a side who sat 18th, just one point clear of the relegation zone ahead of kick-off at the Bee Arena on Tuesday. Sports missed the chance to leapfrog next Tuesday’s opponents Rushall Olympic into third and had to settle for moving to within a point with a game in hand.

As has been the way though for Sports in the past few months though, they were once again tripped up by a side towards the bottom of the table. That result seemed a long way away when two stunning strikes had put them into a first half lead early.

Sports had not got into the game in the early stages as the ball was struggling to stick up front and despite the fact Jordan Macleod was left to rue not being able to really test the visiting keeper, from a one-on-one opportunity, Sports nearly trailed when Josh McCammon had to clear a corner no one competed for off the line. Three minutes later, he had Sports in the lead with an outrageous flick from behind his body on the side of his foot, back over his head and looping over the helpless keeper. Kyjuon Marsh-Brown’s cross made the goal possible. With Bromsgrove still stunned, roughly two in-game minutes later, Luke Warner-Eley stepped up to take a 25-yard free-kick and buried it into the top left corner.

He nearly did it again before the half-hour mark but the keeper got down low to push it away and Mark Jones couldn’t put the rebound it. Bromsgrove were stunned and could have gone in at the break 3-0 down, if Macleod has just gotten his foot over the ball of Lamine Sherif’s driven cross. Not an easy skill but the resulting effort being blazed over an unguarded net did not look good.

After the break, the game struggled to get going again thanks a referee unwilling to let it flow. After pointing that out to him directly, Bromsgrove manager Gavin Hurren was shown the yellow card. Sports allowed their standards to slip though and recent arrival Peter Crook in goal was not filling his defence with confidence after coming off his line but failing to claim a couple of balls sent into the box.

That proved to be the undoing of Sports to let Bromsgove back in just after the hour mark when Callum Ebanks sprinted away from him marker and nipped in front to Crook, who had come to the edge of the box to deal with the danger. The ball was squeezed under him and into the net.

Josh Moreman come and soon after and should have given his side their two-goal cushion back after floating into space on the left of the box from a Sherif flick-on. He could only deflect his effort onto the post though on the half volley.

Bromsgrove kept coming though and put in a much improved second half display. They nearly equalised after a mad scramble required Sports to make three excellent blocks after Crooks had missed a free kick sent into the box. Ebanks also put a couple of headers wide before Josh Quaynor scored the games third stunner.

From the same range as Warner-Eley, just into the right-hand side of the goal, he smashed home to bring his side level and send Sports fans home frustrated.

A big week lies ahead for Dean’s men, who host 8th-placed Royston on Saturday (April 2) but then travel to Rushall Olympic on Tuesday night (April 5) for a potential dress rehearsal for a play-off meeting.