CORBY TOWN 2 DORCHESTER TOWN 2

A LAST-DITCH Corby equaliser thwarted Dorchester’s chances of completing a league double over the title chasers at Steel Park this afternoon.

Greg Mills, who had put the home side in front early on, bagged his second of the game from the penalty spot in the 91st minute.

That came after a sensational turnaround in fortunes for the Magpies, who had levelled through Mark Irvine and then led briefly courtesy of Lewis Morgan’s late goal.

As it turned out, midfielder Ashley Nicholls was required by parent club Maidenhead and didn’t feature for the visitors.

Defender Matt Oldring was also unavailable so Sam Lanahan came into the starting line-up along with Nathan Walker, who was back after a two-game ban.

There was a familiar face playing for Corby in the shape of Elliott Chamberlain, the striker who had a spell on loan with Dorchester at the end of last season.

Meanwhile, the Steelmen were without Spencer Weir-Daley as he was on international duty with Montserrat.

And by the way the hosts started the game it didn’t look like they were going to miss the striker.

It took just three minutes for the home side to go in front when Mills dribbled his way past a couple of Dorchester players and finished from a narrow angle.

A second goal looked likely soon after as the visitors struggled to cope with all the pressure coming their way.

One goalbound effort had to be cleared off the line, Alan Walker-Harris then made a smart save, and Jamie Anton saw a header blocked.

The Magpies slowly began to get a foothold in the contest but they were nearly undone again when Chamberlain went close to making it 2-0 on the half hour.

However, the visitors hit back and Corby keeper Paul Walker had to produce a superb stop to prevent Dorchester equalising.

Walker’s save was the precursor to a flurry of corners for the away side which the league leaders dealt with.

Back came the Steelmen and after Mills and Chamberlain were denied Walker-Harris pulled out all the stops to turn a Ben Milnes shot around the post and out for a corner.

Milnes had another opportunity to double his side’s advantage just before the break, though this time he shot straight at Walker-Harris, much to the visitors’ relief.

It was an open start to the second half as Corby looked to add to Mills’ early strike and the Magpies tried to find a leveller.

A Stephan Morley free-kick almost caught out Walker-Harris but the former’s effort was diverted wide for a corner.

Corby continued to press and skipper Cleveland Taylor set up Shane Byrne, only for the latter to drag his shot just wide.

Morley then tested Walker-Harris with another free-kick from just outside the Magpies’ box but the keeper was more than a match for the defender’s shot.

At this point, the Steelmen and their fans would have known that not scoring again to make the three points safe could come back to haunt them.

And that’s just what happened.

First, substitute Irvine picked a great moment to open his account for Dorchester, and then Morgan popped up in the 89th minute to stun the hosts.

But the drama was not over and Mills slotted home an injury-time penalty to earn Corby a point.

Corby: Walker, Thomas, Morley, Anton, N’Goma, Byrne, Mills, Taylor, Chamberlain, Milnes, Carvalho. Subs: Wright, Gascoigne, Hoban, Kennedy, Donkin.

Magpies: Walker-Harris, Lanahan, Tarbuck, Jermyn, Smeeton, Dillon, Morgan, Gleeson, Watson, Walker, Smith. Subs: Irvine, Brookes, Horsburgh, Murray, Godfrey.

Referee: Mark Jones (Mansfield)

Attendance: 780