Histon 1, Aveley 1

AVELEY returned from Histon with a hard-earned point but slipped off the top of the BetVictor Usthmian North as Heybridge Swifts won at Soham. Third-placed Maldon remain title favourites as they thrashed Felixstowe and sit a point behind the Millers but with four games in hand on them – and seven on Swifts.

The match at Bridge Road was a fairly even affair, with Aveley coming back after suffering a disappointing start when Ed Rolph benefitted from a defensive mix-up and scored after just nine minutes.

Aveley then came more into the match and Alex Akrofi went close with a free kick given for a foul on Tim Richardson that curled just over the bar. They then enjoyed a sustained spell of pressure but had nothing to show for it until the last minute of the half.

Roach was penalised for picking up a back pass, a somewhat hard decision by the referee who then further angered the home side by spotting a handball from the resulting free kick and he pointed to the spot despite the protests. Shad Ngandu kept calm and fired past Roach from the spot to make it 1-1.

Chances came and went for both sides, particularly in the final stages when Alfie Lawrence had a great chance to win it for Histon before his shot was blocked. The young defender though was the hero soon after when making an unbelievable goal line block when it looked certain the visitors would grab a very late winner.