Football
Hyde snatches a point for Robins

Tiverton Town 2 Evesham United 2

Evo-Stik Southern League Division One South & West

JAMIE HYDE'S last-gasp equaliser secured Evesham United a precious point at promotion-chasing Tiverton Town on Saturday.

Hyde, the longest serving player on United's books, found the back of the net with the last kick of the game to score his first goal for the Robins in four years and ensure Evesham's losing streak did not extend to three matches.

The match had looked all over for Paul West's side early in the second half when the Devon outfit held a 2-0 lead and looked certain to seal victory.

However, United showed their fighting qualities to hit back with two late goals and collect their 12th point away from home this season.

Tiverton enjoyed the better of the first half as David Steele and Joe Bushin both had shots cleared off the line and Alex Faux crashed a shot against the crossbar, but the hosts could not find a way through.

Two soft goals at the start of the second half, however, looked to have put Tiverton on the road to victory.

A mix-up at the back presented leading scorer Bushin with the opportunity to fire the home side ahead and then a mis-kick by Evesham keeper Tom Cross allowed Dave Pearse to walk the ball home into an unguarded net.

A couple of tactical substitutions by boss West resulted in Dwayne Spence pulling a goal back with 13 minutes to play which set up a grandstand finish and, with the final whistle about to blow, up stepped Hyde to place a low drive wide of home keeper Chris Wright to spark wild celebrations in the United camp.

The point left Evesham in 13th place and they head into the festive season with a visit to Sholing on Saturday, December 22 before welcoming Bishops Cleeve to the Jubilee Stadium on Boxing Day (1pm).

There is a supporters' coach going to Southampton for the match at Sholing, which departs the Jubilee Stadium at 10.15am. Supporters can reserve a seat by contacting Mike Peplow on 07889 011539.

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