Evo-Stik Southern League Division One South and West

Slimbridge 2 Wantage Town 2

A CRAZY first thirty minutes to this game saw Slimbridge go two goals down in 15 minutes, and then pull back level in the next 15 as they drew 2-2 with Wantage Town on Saturday.

The Swans had much the better of the rest of the match, but were unable to land the killer blow, and Wantage headed back to Oxfordshire with a hard earned point.

The result saw the Swans slip to seventh in the league table on Saturday and then down to tenth after their game against Bridgwater was postponed on Bank Holiday Monday.

Nevertheless, Slimbridge still remain unbeaten after five matches of the season..

The first twenty minutes of games this season have seen the Swans start sluggishly, and Saturday’s game was no exception.

With only seven minutes on the clock, Adam Mace missed a tackle as Harvey Scholes attacked down the Wantage right, and Scholes’ cross was easily converted by Todd Hathaway to give the visitors the lead.

Ten minutes later, it went from bad to worse for Slimbridge, when Scholes’ shot from the edge of the box took a slight deflection to leave Adrian Kowalski in the Swans’ goal goal with no chance for the second time in the game.

The fightback, when it finally kicked in, saw a couple of great moves level things.

First, Mace’s pinpoint diagonal saw Liam Orchard find space on the Swans’ right, and drill the back across the goal, giving Wantage keeper Eddie Cavanagh no chance.

Ten minutes later, with just 30 minutes on the clock, the sides were level, when Orchard and then Sean Lawson created an opportunity for Johnny Cant, who converted from close range, to even things up.

The home side gained the momentum, and Cant, and then Orchard were both off target as the sides went into the break level, with Wantage forced onto the back foot.

The second half continued to mirror the end of the first, with it seeming just a matter of time before the home side took the lead.

But Wantage displayed an admirable work ethic to frustrate Slimbridge.

Ed Major, who had been introduced at half-time for Cant, was central to many of the Swans’ best moves of the half, and had an early shot well saved by Cavanagh after good work from Lawson to set him up.

Alex Hoyle was next to try his luck, a turn and shot bringing a close range save and then a goalmouth scramble, which again was cleared.

Ten minutes into the second-half, Wantage had probably their best chance of the period, when Jared Jones and Scholes combined well to bring a good save from Kowalski.

Slimbridge thought they had finally broken through on the hour, when Jack Twyman’s header from Mace’s corner beat Cavanagh, but ended up in the side netting and just the wrong side of the Wantage post.

With 15 minutes remaining, Freddy Ward’s cross was nearly headed into his own net by James Glover, but again, the Wantage goal was leading a charmed life, and the home side were left frustrated.

Cavanagh was under severe pressure at times in the Wantage goal, but was responsible for some admirable stopping, notably from Major, then Lawson, only to see the same two beat him but miss the target by inches as Slimbridge pressed.

In the last ten minutes, it was backs to the wall for Wantage, but the sides end up level at the end of an entertaining afternoon.