Ryman League Division One South
Chipstead 4 Whyteleafe 4
DESPITE leading 3-1 at half-time, Whyteleafe were lucky to leave High Road with a point today after a revival by Chipstead in the second half.
Chipstead seemed to step up their game after goalkeeper Aaron Bufton was forced off with a broken nose leaving striker Will Turl and then midfielder Dan Moody to don the gloves.
Chipstead scored three second half goals to take the lead, and looked like they would earn all three points until an 89th minute goal from Shawn Lyle earned Leafe a share of the spoils.
The visitors should have been two goals up within five minutes of kick off after beating the Chipstead offside trap. Roscoe Dsane uncharacteristically missed a one-on-one with keeper Bufton within the first minute of the game, sending the shot wide of the left-hand post.
And minutes later Greg Andrews had a similar opportunity, running through on goal he saw the ball smothered by Bufton on the edge of the box. The Chips keeper took a knock to the face making the save at Andrews' feet, and a lengthy delay followed while he got his bearings and swap shirts.
Moody had a half-chance easily saved by Sheikh Ceesay at the other end, but Leafe got the reward for their early dominance after 14 minutes. Bufton saved a shot by Dsane, but the Chipstead defence failed to clear and first Sam Clayton's strike was blocked before the ball fell to Ryan Fowler to hit home through a crowded box.
But the lead did not last long and after ten minutes, the home side were level again. Almost from nowhere, Kenny Oreguna found the back of the net after 25 minutes.
Two minutes later and Leafe were back in front, Dsane made up for his earlier lack of composure to fire the ball past Bufton.
And Jensen Grant very nearly extended their lead, the midfielder's header forcing Bufton to acrobatically tip the ball over the crossbar.
After another delay for Bufton to receive treatment, the keeper finally admitted defeat and handed the gloves over to striker Turl, with Kofi Quartey coming off the bench to take Turl's place up front.
And on 39 minutes, the experience of Dsane exploited the home side's frailties between the sticks, making scoring look easy with a volley after a ball from Jason Henry. At the time, it looked like Leafe could well have run riot.
But despite their problems at the other end, Chipstead continued to make their attacks count and Tre Mitford pulled a goal back before the break to make it 3-2.
Chipstead emerged for the second half with their third goalkeeper for the afternoon. Skipper Moody, the club's top-scorer, replaced Turl between the sticks, with the striker re-taking his place outfield.
And the decision immediately paid off with Turl scoring with a firm header at the far post within four minutes of the second half starting.
Ten minutes into the second half, Chipstead had the lead for the first time. Quartey beat the offside trap and despite Ceesay getting a hand to it, the keeper couldn't hold onto it and Quartey hit it into an open goal, barely waiting for it to cross the line before wheeling away to celebrate.
Despite facing a stand-in keeper, Wjhyteleafe struggled for shots in the second half, with Moody not having a lot to do between the sticks.
Mitford had a glorious chance to give Chipstead a two-goal cushion, but sliced the ball over the crossbar from close range, while the home defence cleared a rare Leafe attack off the line at the other end.
But just as it looked like Chipstead were heading for an unlikely three points, Lyle scored an equaliser in the 89th minute.
