Kettering 3 Chorley 3: Magpies let it slip in stoppage time

The visitors struggled to get to grips with the conditions in the first half as the bobbly, boggy pitch made the initial going tough.

Kettering took full advantage of their familiarity with conditions when on-loan Mansfield forward Jimmy Knowles managed to nod past Matt Urwin on 14 minutes from a deflected Keaton Ward cross.

If the lacklustre opening 45 minutes was forgettable, what came in the second half was pure entertainment.

A quick equaliser came from Jon Ustabası on 54 minutes, the winger skipping away from three challenges after a 50-yard run before shooting beyond the despairing dive of Owen Mason.

Despite the sharp momentum shift, the home side regained the lead when Decarrey Sheriff dispatched a 67th-minute penalty after being fouled by Harvey Smith.

Again the Magpies fought back with 10 to play. Ustabası’s smart cross from the left volleyed superbly home by Billy Whitehouse.

The league’s top scorer Connor Hall then headed his 20th of the season from a wicked Adam Blakeman free-kick for what looked to be a Chorley winner in the last minute.

But, there was a final sting at the other end. A disputed corner deep into added on time fell amongst the plethora of bodies in the six yard box to George Cooper, who bundled home a final equaliser, much to the displeasure of the visitors.

KETTERING: Mason, Gascoigne, Stohrer, Knowles, Ward, Sharpe, Cooper, Hill, Myles, Forsyth (Lewthwaite 89), Sheriff. Subs not used: White, Bennett, Sault, Hogg.

CHORLEY: Urwin, Henley, Smith, Wilson, Nolan (Shenton 75), Whitehouse, Calveley, Ustabası, Finney (Blakeman 69), Scarborough (Johnson 75), Hall. Subs not used: Leather, Drench.

Attendance: 674