Andy Munns
Over 1000 people witnessed an entertaining game of football at the Ray Mac on Boxing Day as Salisbury came from behind, scoring a late equaliser.
The Whites once again left it late to grab a point as Wayne Robinson scored deep in injury time to secure a 2-2 draw in front of 1005 supporters against Winchester City.
Salisbury were dealt a significant blow before kick-off as ‘keeper, Josh Gould, dislocated his finger during the warm-up.
Brian Dutton called upon Theo Lewis to stand in as a makeshift replacement with no specialist replacement named in the matchday squad.
The game got off to a fairly slow start, with neither team able to put their mark on the game; stand-in ‘keeper Lewis will have been relieved not to have too much of a stern test early on.
He was called into action on 36 minutes and saved well as Winchester City broke down the right-hand side, and Caborn saw his effort put behind for a corner.
Winchester City then took the lead in added time at the end of the first half. Lewis saved from former White Devon Arnold before Tommy Wright tucked home the equaliser.
Salisbury didn’t take long to get back level at the start of the second half. After a strong start to the half and having an effort cleared off the line in the first couple of minutes, Salisbury were awarded a penalty, the referee pointing the spot after a shot was blocked with an arm.
Sido Jombati eventually took the penalty, slotting him calmly to level things up.
Salisbury then had a man advantage as Winchester’s ‘keeper dallied on the ball and lost it to Harry Williams. His challenge was robust, and the referee deemed it to be denying a goal-scoring opportunity. With no substitute goalkeeper on the bench, it meant both teams were now playing without a recognised stopper in goal.
The 10-men of Winchester kept fighting, though, and took the lead after 77 minutes when Trevor Carborn put them back in front. Salisbury lost the ball in midfield, and Caborn broke and finished well.
Salisbury pilled on the pressure in the final 10 minutes and eventually found the back of the net in the fifth minute of injury time. The goal came as it felt like it might be one of those days, but Wayne Robinson grabbed the late goal to level things up.
This draw, following the defeat away at Hungerford on Saturday leaves Salisbury 2 points behind Chesham United in second place in the Southern League Premier South table.
Salisbury next travel to Basingstoke on Saturday (30th December) with a 3 pm kick off.
