CHARLIE Williams marked his Stratford Town debut with a dramatic injury time equaliser as the Bards claimed an impressive point in a 1-1 draw with title challengers Leiston.
Williams came off the bench to score three minutes into time added after Finlay Barnes appeared to have won the game for Leiston at Victory Road.
The result means Stratford sit 19th in the Southern League Premier Central table, one point from safety having dropped back into the relegation zone.
Leiston were awarded a penalty on 12 minutes after Lewis Ludford-Ison was penalised for a foul in the box only for Liam O’Brien to make a superb save diving to his right to deny Blues’ top scorer Will Davies.
However, the home side eventually took the lead on 53 minutes when a weak punch at a corner from O’Brien fell to Barnes who struck a first time effort into the net from the edge of the penalty area.
The Bards had the ball in the net soon after only for Callum Ebanks’ effort to be ruled out for offside from Kyle Bennett’s free-kick.
However, Gavin Hurren’s men found an equaliser at the death when Williams’s shot bobbled past Leiston goalkeeper Sam Donkin from Andre Wright’s cross.
Stratford are next in action at home to Alvechurch on Saturday, March 18 with kick-off at 3pm at the Arden Garages Stadium.
