Grantham Town draw with Quorn in the Northern Premier League
Grantham staged a fantastic fightback to secure an unlikely share of the spoils with table-topping Quorn on Saturday.
The Gingerbreads looked to be heading for defeat against the runaway Northern Premier League Midlands Division leaders when they trailed by two goals with 24 minutes remaining.
However, Tom Pawson halved the deficit in the 72nd minute before Max Cook grabbed a late leveller to earn a share of the spoils.
Manager Nathan Arnold was delighted by the performance of his players as they responded to last week's heavy defeat at Anstey Nomads.
He said: "It was a really spirited performance and I was proud of the players.
"It was a collective effort and I felt that was needed if we were to get anything from the game.
"Quorn are a very good side and are up there for all the right reasons.
"We wanted to be brave and courageous out of possession and wanted to go toe-to-toe with them."
The two sides had gone into the match separated by 59 points in the league table and Quorn started the stronger of the teams.
A fine save from Grantham goalkeeper Paul Cooper denied Paddy Webb while Zhani Burgess clipped an effort just over the home crossbar.
Grantham also showed their intentions with visiting custodian Tom Allsopp making a couple of smart stops while some strong Quorn defending kept the Gingerbreads at bay.
The hosts had the best chance of the opening half when AJ Adelekan thumped a shot against the upright while Cooper again excelled to deny Cain Noble just before the break.
Noble saw an effort blocked by Sam Muggleton early in the second half before Quorn made the breakthrough in the 54th minute.
The visitors strung together a slick move and the ball was played into Noble who fired home through a crowd of players.
The lead was doubled 11 minutes later when Grantham defender Ben Richards turned a Webb cross into his own net.
It looked like Grantham would be heading for their 19th league loss of the season but they dug deep to stage a rousing recovery.
Pawson halved the deficit from the penalty spot before the last-gasp equaliser from Cook who prodded home a rebound after Muggleton's long throw into the area.
Arnold added: "The lads were absolutely buzzing to get a result and I told them afterwards to keep that feeling close.
"The game looked like it was getting away from us at 2-0 but we kept fighting and looked like a proper team.
"We were aggressive in our approach and it should give all of the boys lots of confidence."
The draw leaves Grantham 11 points adrift of safety. They travel to 15th-placed Coventry Sphinx on Saturday.
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