SDFL Division One
Beesands Rovers 4, Paignton Villa 4
BOTH teams served up an eight-goal thriller but the hosts felt hard done by as the visitors equalised in the fourth minute of injury time.
Beesands weren’t at the races for the first half an hour as Villa bossed the game, putting the home defence under constant pressure. A bad foot injury to Kurt Thiele meant an early substitution was required, with Jason Wilkes coming on as a replacement.
Despite resolute defending, Villa finally made a breakthrough in the 22nd minute, a low drive across Toby Harvey going in off the post.
This roused Beesands from their slumbers and slowly they started to turn the game around.
With 35 minutes gone, superb work by Jed Tucker saw Wilkes force the ball home from close range but he was given offside.
Two minutes later, Tucker was crudely felled out wide near the touchline. Danny Tucker sent the free-kick deep to the back post, Tim Bromfield headed firmly back across goal and Wilkes lashed the ball home left-footed from 12 yards.
With the visitors stunned, 90 seconds later the Bees were in front. Jed and Danny exchanged a razor sharp one-two, the latter firing home from the edge of the area.
Villa responded, drawing level with a header from a corner, but on the stroke of half-time, Beesands regained the lead.
Lee Hammett’s goalbound shot had the sting taken out of it by a deflection, but Danny Tucker reacted quickest to back-heel the ball over the line.
The second half was only three minutes old when Jed Tucker scored a goal that one long-standing supporter said was the best he’d seen in all his time watching the Bees.
Receiving a throw-in to feet just inside the Villa area, the Beesands striker made it look like the ball was glued to his right foot as he beat five Villa players, two of them twice, before sending the ‘keeper the wrong way and rolling the ball into the opposite corner.
An experienced Villa side rolled up their sleeves as they fought back, pulling a goal back on the hour when an intended cross caught in the wind and drifted over Harvey into the far side netting.
The final half-hour ended as the first had begun with Villa on top but the defence of Lang, Bromfield, Raymont and D Harvey held firm and when they were breached Toby Harvey pulled off a brilliant double save.
With the clock running down, after a clash off knees between Danny Tucker and a Villa player, the referee told enquiring players that there were three minutes left.
These three minutes quickly elapsed but still the referee played on, and on. In the fourth minute of added on time Villa won a corner which was headed down to be stabbed in from almost on the line.
As the visitors celebrated as if they had just won the league, the referee blew the final whistle, leaving Beesands perplexed as to how he found the added time.
Man-of-the-match award went to Jed Tucker and the match ball sponsors were Lilburn and Elliott Construction.
This week Beesands entertain Chudleigh in a Devon Senior Cup game, 2pm kick-off.