THE WAIT for a first league match in six weeks came to an end for Earlswood Town who braved the adverse weather conditions to claim a 2-2 draw at home to Chelmsley Town.
Chelmsley Town were strengthened by the return of prolific striker Christopher Lloyd from Premier Division side Coleshill Town and it was the visitors who were well on top for the first ten minutes of this Midland League Division Two fixture.
They could have taken the lead when Lloyd found himself one-on-one with Earls keeper Dave Hancock but it was the Earlswood custodian who won the day with a good save.
Hancock was the busier of the two keepers in the opening period was forced into another smart save minutes later but after this Earlswood forced their way back into the game.
The hosts did have the ball over the line on 25 minutes but the referee blew for an infringement on the Chelmsley keeper, while at the other end the visitors hit the Earlswood cross bar.
The long layoff was telling on the Earlswood players but they still created chances towards the end of the first half with Zak Lyons testing the Chelmsley keeper with a header and Joshua Allen-Noble fired wide after a goalmouth scramble.
Earlswood came out for the second half looking a different team and after a couple of minutes of pressure they went ahead on 48 minutes.
Ron Adjie passed the ball out to the right for Alex Knight who sent in a shot that beat the Chelmsley keeper and went in just under the cross bar.
They took complete control of the game after taking the lead and were denied a second when skipper Gareth Mathews hit a free kick which sailed just inside the near post but celebrations were cut short when the referee’s assistant flagged for an offside infringement.
In the 65th minute Alex Knight was put through on goal and he took the ball around the keeper only to see his shot cleared off the line by a defender.
When Chelmsley did attack they always looked dangerous and the hosts had defender Keith Draper for blocking a Lloyd shot off the line.
The hosts managed to double their advantage soon after when knight set up Lyons who rounded the keeper and slotted into an empty net.
But Chelmsley came back into the game and two late goals, including an equaliser in stoppage time, earned the visitors a point.
Earlswood are next in action on February 21 when they host Kenilworth Town.
