Holbeach United draw with Thurlow Nunn League Division One North leaders Framlingham Town

Two stoppage time goals from Will Barnes earned Holbeach United a share of the spoils from Saturday's trip to league leaders Framlingham.

The Thurlow Nunn League Division One North table-toppers looked on course for victory when they held a 3-1 lead going into injury-time.

However, Barnes bagged a last-gasp brace to keep Holbeach's hopes of a top five finish still alive despite their ninth draw of the season.

Co-boss Danny Clifton was pleased with the rousing finish from the Tigers but admitted the late goal double had got his side 'out of jail.'

He said: "The players were all in really good spirits at the end and it did feel like a win, but I told them afterwards that they had got themselves out of jail.

"It was looking like another game which we had given away and I was planning my conversations for afterwards but that all changed in the last two minutes.

"I was pleased that we came back with a draw which we were all happy about but there was a part of me that was on looking at the other side of it and that we had dropped another two points."

The Tigers had made the trip to Suffolk without top scorer Cal Davies who joined the injured Harvey Robertson and Harvey Wirkowski on the sidelines.

They then suffered a further setback when striker Kyle Compton was forced off with a hamstring injury in the early stages of the game.

Framlingham took the lead when Nikolay Shopov's cross into the area sparked a scramble and, although Holbeach goalkeeper Max Rigby did well to repel a couple of shots, Alex Ling finally got the better of the Tigers custodian.

Holbeach's response was instant though and the lively Bogdan Masnita burst clear and, although his first effort was saved, he was on hand to convert the rebound.

Framlingham regained the lead before the break when a ball over the top caused confusion in the Holbeach rearguard and Max Willett raced through to score.

With the contest finely balanced at the break, a slow start to the second half saw Holbeach fall further behind.

Ling's pass this time sliced through the visitors' defensive ranks and Willett was again on hand to score his 19th goal of the season.

Holbeach rang the changes in a bid to get back into the match with Jordan Oldham and Jack Smith both having an impact on proceedings following the first half introduction of Adrian Bilicz.

They staved off the initial pressure from Framlingham after the third goal before hitting back in the latter stages with a dramatic late double.

The second goal arrived in the first minute of stoppage time as a solid phase of play saw the ball worked out to Ainsley Johnson whose cross to the back post was met by Oldham and his header picked out Barnes to convert.

Framlingham then lost possession almost immediately from the kick-off as they launched the ball forward which went through to goalkeeper Rigby.

He started the attack by picking out Johnson who fed the ball back into the home penalty area where it eventually broke for Barnes to drill home a fine finish from the edge of the box.

There was only enough time for Framlingham to restart the game before the referee blew his whistle to end the contest.

Clifton added: "I was frustrated with the second goal which we conceded and I told the lads at half-time that it was a learning curve for us and we had to make sure it didn't happen again.

"The third goal straight after half-time was almost identical and we have been slow out of blocks after the break in previous games which is hurting us.

"It left us chasing the game because their tails were up. They were putting us under pressure and we weren't playing our game.

"The game-plan went out of the window. No-one was being brave on the ball and we were giving it back to them.

"It was a complete opposite to the first half which was frustrating. It was really disappointing and I was getting more frustrated the longer the game went on.

"There was a break in play due to an injury and I got the lads together and told them to go back to doing what they do best.

"The substitutes made a difference and we managed to rescue a point but it is another draw and that's nine now for the season which is too many.

"We aren't losing many football matches but I need the lads to be disappointed about the draws because, when we get to that stage, I'm convinced that they won't drop these sort of points."

Tigers: Rigby, Nicholson, H Henderson, F Henderson, Johnson, Carter, Barnes, Millinson, Yambasu, Compton Masnita. Subs all used: Bilicz, Oldham, Smith. Attendance: 92.