Captain Charlie De’Ath was St Ives Town’s last-gasp saviour as they pocketed a valuable Southern League Premier Division point yesterday.
De’Ath reacted quickest to smash in a rebound after a Scott Sinclair shot had thumped against the bar to secure a 1-1 draw against Frome Town at ProEdge Westwood Road.
“There is no way we deserved to lose,” admitted manager Ricky Marheineke. “And thankfully Charlie came up with a late goal to make sure that didn’t happen.
“Neither side created a lot of chances and it was disappointing to concede from a set piece again, but we got level and it adds an important point to our tally.
“We made some positive changes in the second half as we knew we needed a result. It paid off for us in this game whereas in others it might not and we’ll end up losing more heavily.
“It is easy for supporters to turn on a team when things aren’t going well, but they stuck with us and gave us great encouragement.
Saints had fallen behind seven minutes before the break in a game of few chances. Frome man Connor Roberts forced the ball past returning Saints keeper Ollie Sutton, who has rejoined from Bedford Town, following a corner.
Sutton replaced the suspended Tim Trebes, who was dismissed in a defeat at Kings Langley the previous Saturday.
Saints remain outside the relegation zone on goal difference. They sit level on points with a Cirencester side, who are in the bottom four, and a Hayes & Yeading outfit they travel to face on Tuesday night.
Marheineke added: “You only have to look at the league table to see that Tuesday is a big game for both clubs.
“It’s not quite a must-win, but it is one we can’t afford to lose and we’ll go into it with a bit off momentum and confidence after getting the draw against Frome.
“It’s a gradual process of needing to turn losses into draws, and draws into wins and we’ll climb the table if we can do that.”
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