All level at the top again.
The Crows came away from the Belmont Ground, Whitstable, with all three points having to have dug deep and show great desire throughout the whole 90 minutes. The match always looked like it was going to be a tricky one for the Crows, as the battle for the title hots up week by week and game by game.
This game against the Oysterboys was our match in hand on the leaders, Ashford United, so the team and supporters knew that anything but a win would hand the Nuts & Bolts a huge advantage as both clubs head towards the Easter weekend and two fixtures in quick succession.
With both clubs now having only four games to play the pressure is on to win every game they play and that scenario was exactly the same that faced the Crows for this match as we all arrived in Whitstable around 6:15pm.
There was a surprise for the Crow fans when they heard the team news in that two new players, Jahmahl King and Gabriel Odunaike, who signed for the club on dual registrations from Walton Casuals, before the end of the transfer window at the end of March 2017, had been selected to play and therefore, make their Crow debuts.
Many remember the home game against the Oysterboys in March where we won 3-1 and they had three players dismissed and there was a palpable fear that this match could go the same way, however, I'm pleased to say that in the main, both teams wanted to play football and overall it was a good game to watch, even if our nerves were frayed at times.
It was interesting to note that the Whitstable Town Chairman and their Manager both wrote in their respective programme notes that the discipline of their players will need to improve, as it's not acceptable and the situation will be addressed in the summer period. There's another page in their programme where they list their squad players and the number of yellow and red cards each of the players has accrued so far this season however, with another four yellows in this match, we had three, I'm not sure that technique is working or they are paying any heed to it.
Whether they make their players pay their own fines for yellow/red cards or not, I don't know, what I can say though is ours do and if they're booked for dissent, they have to pay a premium to the club on top of the standard FA fine, may be that's why our record is better than many.
The match couldn't have started better for the Crows as they went 1-0 up in the 1st minute, Attwood with a flick on assist to Odunaike and he then did the rest himself as he tuck the ball away from around 8 yards out, giving Eason no chance to stop the goal.
With this boost the Crows had the better of the first 20 minutes, Carey having a couple of efforts, one going high over the bar, the other saved by Eason. The Crows dominated the early possession but you always felt that the forwards of Town needed to be watch very closely as they were very quick on the break.
Rowland saw yellow from referee Joe Stokes in the 8th minute and it must be said that the referee had a very good game overall, keeping the players and the game under control throughout, thus making sure the temperature was kept at an acceptable level.
Walder picked up an unlucky yellow in the 16th minute and then the match settled down to one where both teams had chunks of possession but never really seriously tested either 'keeper that much, Ellis had to make a couple of saves from Rowland and Sawyer, whilst Eason had to do likewise to prevent Attwood, Odunaike, Turner and Carrington extending the Crows advantage.
Therefore, the half time interval was reached with the Crows leading however, the Crow supporters were feeling that a second goal would be nice, just to calm the nerves, whilst knowing that our hosts were not out of it and looked more than capable of getting back in the match during the second half.
The Crow faithful were hoping that there wouldn't be a repeat of the Ashford United second half however, the home side scored an equaliser within 3 minutes of the restart, Rowland putting the ball away from the edge of the area after the ball was not cleared properly from a free-kick, 1-1 with most of the half to go.
Another 3 minutes passed and 1-1 became 2-1 to the home side after the Crows took a free-kick on the edge of their area, unfortunately the ball was cleared and it ended up with Smith finishing a move off by slotting the ball low to Ellis' left hand from the edge of the area. It was a great finish and now the home side were flying.
For the Crows it was very much deja-vu as the home side started to dominate possession and control the game, forcing the Crows back towards their goal and keeping them penned in for minutes at a time. The cause was not helped when Vickers had to go off with what seemed like a calf injury but it did allow the opportunity for Muggeridge to enter the fray and see if he could reinvigorate the Crows.
Gradually, the Crows started to get back in the game and in the 59th minute it really should have been 2-2, the Crows had at least three efforts from only six yards out in quick succession but the efforts were either blocked or saved by Eason, so the score remained 2-1 to the home side.
Around the 65th minute mark, Carrington was replaced by Pearson for the Crows and Smith was replaced by Mahoney. The substitutions made by the home side seemed to halt their dominance and the Crows started to play some football and kept the ball far better than they had since the second period started.
With the Crows getting more into the game, Walder was brought down in the area and a penalty was awarded in the 74th minute, Barton took it and put it passed Eason with ease, 2-2 then. Sedenu picked up a yellow for protesting too much about the award and then scorer Barton saw yellow in the 80th minute when he "took one for the team" by bringing down a home player as he was bursting through the Crows defence near the half-way line.
Whitstable Town then replaced Quain with Brown in the 81st minute then Lee became the next name on referee Stokes' card for a foul on the edge of their area, the kick coming to nothing. To further enhance our attacking prowess, Odunaike, who had worked very hard upfront all game, was replaced by Perry in the 89th minute.
With stoppage time now being played both Perry and Hood were booked by the referee for some pushing and shoving in the area. Knowing they needed to win the game the Crows poured forward and pushed as many players up front as they could. This led to Barton picking the ball up just outside the home side's penalty area, down the Crows left hand side and finding himself with the chance of a left foot shot from around 16 yards out, he did not waste that chance and fired it home in the 96th minute. Queue wild celebrations from supporters, management, substitutes and players alike.
The match finally finished after 97 minutes and scoring hero Barton was awarded the Man of the Match award, not just because of the goals but because of his all-round performance during the whole game.
The players deserve a huge amount of credit for never giving up, digging in when they really had to and having the desire not to give in and settle for just a point. So, the Crows are now level on points with Ashford United and both have played 34 games, although the Nuts & Bolts have a better goal-difference than we do. Whilst we are at home to Lordswood on Saturday, they entertain Fisher FC, then on Easter Monday they are "away" to Canterbury City whilst we are travelling to Salter Road to face Fisher FC.
Both clubs have four "cup finals" to play and the team that comes out on top will be the team that handles the pressure best. If the Crows can play as well as they did in the first half against Whitstable Town in their remaining games and keep it going for the whole game, I have no doubt that we will prevail at the end of the season.