WITH Ayre United leading 1-2 with the match approaching full-time, the north was going to be painted tangerine on Saturday evening.
But Ramsey Youth Centre and Old Boys’ Matthew Boyd struck a decisive equaliser ensuring a share of the spoils in the JCK Division Two northern derby.
A draw was no good for either side. With Colby victorious the previous weekend, the southerners have recently made up good ground as the race for promotion to Manx football’s promised land intensifies.
Ayre are now 11 points short of second place Colby, although they have two games in hand, and the best they can hope for is a good cup run matched with a league run-in to guarantee qualification for the end-of-season Gold Cup competition.
This was a match of footballing clichés with middle battles, defences on top and chances at a premium in the opening 45 minutes. Also included is a game of two halves: the first half was a colourless and drab affair; the second was a more entertaining and end-to-end occasion.
The stand-out feature in the first period was referee Chris Taggart wearing a yellow goalkeeping jersey to avoid a colour clash.
Stephen Parish and Chris Duggan both drove efforts that were collected by Youthie net-minder Greg Radcliffe early on while the opposing response came via an Oliver Blaker free-kick that just went wide of goal.
The only chance worthy of note in the first half came shortly before the interval when Matthew Boyd’s header was expertly palmed over the crossbar by an acrobatic Toby Hedges as both goals remained intact come the oranges.
The match desperately needed a goal and it came courtesy of the hosts. Glen McGovern’s free-kick was parried by Hedges and Graham Kennish reacted the quickest to poke home for 1-0.
United refused to roll-over and, showing great character, levelled the scoreline. Stephen Jordan played the ball inside where Chris Duggan nipped in ahead of the Youthie defence and placed his shot into the bottom left corner for the equaliser.
Graham Kennish continued to be a nuisance for the visitors and twice went close with headers, one bringing out an outstanding save from Hedges while the other was flicked onto the post
Ayre had their moments too, Stephen Jordan leading the charge along the flank and Chris Higgins flashing an effort just wide when presented with a shooting opportunity.
With 83 minutes played, the Tangerines got their noses in front for the first time in the game. A throw-in was flicked on to Duggan whose scooped effort hit the crossbar and Cain raced onto the rebound to plant a header into the Youthie goal.
With the match entering its final phase, RYCOB gambled with one last throw of the dice that brought reward with a tried and trusted method.
Andrew Walton’s huge throw was planted amidst the mixer and the resulting melee was met by Boyd’s outstretched leg to convert the last-gasp equaliser and earn a share of the spoils.
TEAM CHECK
RYCOB: Greg Radcliffe, Dan Callow, Graham Kennish, Oliver Blaker, Mike Nixon, Matthew Boyd, Marc Faragher, Glen McGovern (Rob Moreton 63m), Chris Robinson (Andrew Walton 79m), Jamie Brew (Marc McClurg 83m), Stephen Grose
Ayre United: Toby Hedges, Kris Murdoch, Mark Cain, Stephen Parish (Christian Penswick 71m), George Rawlinson, Gordon Heward (Tony Corlett 48m), Stephen Jordan , Paul Kennish, James Teare (Chris Higgins 59m), Chris Duggan
Referee: Chris Taggart
Bookings: Robinson (RYCOB) and Penswick (Ayre United)
Man of the Match: Kennish (RYCOB)
Match rating: HHIII