Wind a deciding factor in result.
On a day when Storm Brian hit England the wind blew, the Crows will reflect on a performance that never hit the heights of their last two games and ended up with them conceding a late, late goal to drop two points.
Perhaps over a period of reflection though, they may consider it to be a point gained rather than two lost as for large parts of the game Chatham Town more than held their own against the Crows and will feel I'm sure that they deserved at least a point out of the game themselves.
Before the game the SCEFL Premier Division table would indicate that the Crows should be favourites to win the game however, Town never showed any inferiority complex at any point in the game and there's no doubt that a recent change in manager and playing personnel has improved their situation quite considerably.
Both teams knew they would have to battle the elements throughout the 90 minutes as there was a stiff wind blowing from one end of the ground to the other, meaning you were either playing with the wind at your backs or it was blowing full tilt into your face.
The Crows won the toss and decided to play the first half with the wind at their backs and had the first effort within the first minute, Phipp hitting a shot from 22 yards out just wide. Town replied within a minute, Grant making Di Barnado have to make a save.
The front three of Hagan, Golding and Billy Brown for Town looked bright from the start and their pace and movement caused the Crows defence plenty of problems throughout the game, especially in the first half, as Chatham Town used the long ball to good effect against the wind by hitting the ball in to the wide areas behind the Crow wingbacks.
Town took the lead when a slip in the Crows defence allowed Hagan to go one on one with Di Barnado and the striker calmly put the ball past the advancing 'keeper and in to the net and it has to be said it was a deserved lead at the time.
The rest of the half was very much give and take and rather end to end even if the quality of football was not always of a high standard but both teams had their chances to bother the scoreboard again however, the break was reached with Town holding on to their 1-0 lead.
The home side started the second half brighter than the first and were awarded a penalty in the 47th minute when Crabb was upended in the area by Town defender Butler who received a yellow card for his trouble. Having scored a couple recently captain Muggeridge took the spot kick only to see it superbly saved by Nicholls in the Town goal for a corner.
Perhaps the most annoying thing for the Crows was that they had put the ball in the net just as the referee blew for the penalty and perhaps had he allowed a period of advantage on this occasion, as he had done so throughout, then it would have been 1-1 and our penalty woes would not have mattered. The resulting corner resulted in Phipp getting his head to the ball only to see it headed off the line by a Town defender, the ball eventually being cleared to safety.
Perhaps the Town defence should have taken a note of Phipp's prowess in the air as he equalised in the 57th minute when he powered a Muggeridge corner in to the net from 6 yards out and make the score 1-1.
The Crows now enjoyed their best spell of the game and started to dominate as they searched for the lead. Phipp, who had been shooting from distance at every opportunity eventually put the Crows 2-1 up in the 67th minute when he hit a 25 yard screamer against the wind and in to the net, giving Nicholls no chance to make a save.
Town now started to make the wind work for them and whilst they made various substitutions to liven things up for them, they started to put the Crows under increasing pressure which resulted in yellow cards for Phipp, Boddy and Walder. However, both sides had opportunities to score but both goalies and some wayward finishing kept the score at 2-1 to the Crows as the final whistle was fast approaching.
As the match entered added-on time the Town wasted no opportunity to put the ball in to the area and the Crows under pressure and from one of these speculative balls the Town grab the equaliser, Di Barnado went for the cross but couldn't hold on to the ball which fell at the feet of substitute Friend who spun quickly and buried the ball in to the net, much to the joy of everyone attached to Chatham Town.
In the end 2-2 was a fair result overall, although the disappointment shown on the faces of the Crow players was clear for all to see. However, these are the type of games the Crows need to see out when winning and the opposition should not have really been given the chance to equalise near the end as game management is a vital part of a team's armoury if they have aspirations to win the league.
For his two goals and general display Phipp was awarded the Crows Man of the Match award.