Late goal woe is a story of Chorley's season, says Andy Preece
Boss Andy Preece felt the draw at King’s Lynn Town on Saturday was a snapshot Chorley’s season.
The Magpies all but secured their status in the National League North for another season by picking up a point in Norfolk.
The result, in the penultimate weekend of the campaign, means they are theoretically not mathematically safe.
However, their superior goal difference means it will take results of epic proportions involving Hereford, Curzon Ashton and King’s Lynn Town in their final games to catch them.
While relieved to see his men finally ease any relegation worries ahead of this weekend’s final game of the season at home to Worksop Town, Preece was hugely frustrated after his men were denied a deserved victory at King’s Lynn.
Mike Calveley’s first-half strike looked to have handed them all the points only for former Magpie Carlton Ubaezuonu score a dramatic 96th minute equaliser.
"I thought we were excellent,” Preece told ChorleyFC TV. “It’s just frustrating; when you go there and perform like that.
"They are under pressure and I suppose, when you look at other results, if we had lost, we might have been going into the last game really worrying.
"For the lads to perform like that, I thought they were magnificent – we should have won the game.
"We take lots of positives out of it but ultimately we can’t do what we did at the end. We’ve got to see the games through.
"That’s a thing which we have to learn, it just takes away from the performance. People will just look at it and think that we’ve conceded against 10 men in the last minute.” Preece is hoping Victory Park next week will be packed to the rafters for the final game of Matty Urwin’s Chorley career.
The goalkeeper, who missed last weekend’s fixture due to a bout of tonsilitis, will depart at the end of the season to take up a full-time coaching role at Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers.
"He is a club legend,” added Preece. “One of the top appearance makers and for what he’s done for the club, the place should be packed.
"I would like to make it as cheap as possible so that people can come in and show their appreciation because he deserves that.”