WHYTELEAFE manager John Fowler admitted his side "got out of jail" thanks to Shawn Lyle's 89th minute equaliser which earned them a point in a 4-4 draw against local rivals Chipstead today.
Leafe were cruising in the first half but reached the break just 3-1 up, despite Chipstead losing their goalkeeper after half an hour and being forced to field striker Will Turl and then midfielder Dan Moody between the sticks.
Facing a stand-in keeper, it looked like Fowler's play-off chasers might run riot in the second half but instead they looked lost as Chipstead quickly came back into the game, scoring three goals to turn the game on its head.
It took an 89th minute goal from Shawn Lyle to earn Whyteleafe a point and boss Fowler admits his side should have taken their chances in the first half.
"I thought our first half performance was OK," he said. "We should have been a little bit more ruthless and if we had we would have been 3-0 or 4-0 up.
"The decision making in front of goal wasn't the best. In general, I just felt like we gave away sloppy goals. We had to work for our goals whereas we seemed to give them theirs."
And while Leafe spoke about testing Chipstead's stand-in keeper, Fowler believes the plan wasn't put into action, almost costing his team the game.
"We didn't test him; we didn't put him under any pressure," he said of Chipstead's man between the stick. "At half-time, that was one of the discussions, that he wasn't really a goalkeeper so we needed to put him under a bit of pressure and we just didn't do that. We didn't do what we said at half-time we would do.
"But in fairness to Chipstead, they worked really hard, stepped up their game and I think they wanted it a bit more. We got out of jail in the end.
"At 3-1 up, how did we let them get back into the game? We should have killed them off and we didn't. They persevered, they worked hard and they got their just deserts. But I think it's a point gained for them rather than a point gained for us.
"We were 3-1 up and comfortable but goals change games, the momentum swung their way and the got the bit between their teeth."
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
