A chance to make up ground on the top four has gone begging after Inglewood United squandered a two-goal lead to draw 4-4 with a ten-man Floreat Athena. When David Sesay put away Inglewood’s fourth goal, following on from finishes by Ryan Clarke, Scott Blackmore and Teeby Kamara, it appeared the home side were on their way to victory, however, Floreat clawed their way back in to grab a point.
“Disappointed and a little embarrassed with our performance,” is how Clarke summed up Inglewood’s afternoon. “We had a game plan and didn’t – for whatever reason – stick to it. We should have won the game easily, we had many clear cut chances and just didn’t convert our dominance. But credit to Floreat for their fight and belief.”
The day could not have started any worse for Floreat with goalkeeper Tom Dixon issued a straight red card for clattering into Abdul Sesay in just the 5th minute. And Clarke rubbed salt into the wound by sending Michael Woolcott the wrong way with the resultant spot kick. It took only seven minutes for Bobby Wilson to restore parity, the defender nodding in from Jamie Eames’ corner.
Inglewood returned to the attack swiftly and only desperate defending prevented Kamara from restoring their lead. Blackmore showed his team mate how it’s done by heading in at close-range after Sean Browne returned Clarke’s 32nd minute corner into the danger zone. Within minutes Floreat’s high-intensity approach had produced an equaliser via Jack Allen’s swerving low strike from distance.
Kamara’s efforts were rewarded three minutes after the interval when his diving header, from Sean Browne’s classy overhead delivery, burst the roof of the net. Floreat should have had another quick reply but McMahon failed to punish a defensive lapse. And with the very next play Sesay extended Inglewood’s advantage by applying a tidy finish to a swift counterattack.
McMahon made amends for his earlier miss by lashing past Jake Luik’s reach after turning sharply deep inside the area only. The momentum was now with Floreat but it wasn’t until the 85th minute that Eames brought the side’s level from the penalty spot, after Callum Fransz went to ground under Jason Colli’s challenge. Luik ensured Inglewood didn’t finish empty-handed by smothering at the feet of McMahon in stoppage time.
Match Stats:
Inglewood United 4 (Clarke 5, Blackmore 32, Kamara 48, Sesay 60)
Floreat Athena 4 (Wilson 12, Allen 37, McMahon 63, Eames 85)
Inglewood United: Jake Luik, David Sesay, Shane Pickering, Scott Blackmore, Jason Colli (Greg Sharland 86), Abdul Sesay (Scott Witschge 9), Ryan Francis, David Perich (Sean Browne 61), Andrija Jukic, Ryan Clarke, Teeboy Kamara
Floreat Athena: Tom Dixon, Callum Fransz, Bobby Wilson, Mark Walsh, Ryan Pretorius (Gary Hall 80), Andrew Scaldaferro (Michael Woolcott 5), Jack Allen, Ludovic Boi, Jamie Eames, Lewis McMahon, John Thornley (Chris Rizidis 28)
