Why boss was not surprised by 10-man Moneys fightback

After all, they have had plenty of practice.

The Southern League east division table-toppers drew 2-2 at AFC Rushden & Diamonds.

Brett Poate was sent off for a foul when he was deemed the last man with Moneys trailing 2-1.

But skipper Steve Hutchings rescued the Dover Road outfit with a free-kick on 94 minutes.

Poate had earlier opened the scoring, while Lewis Fennemore was shown a red card after the final whistle for gesticulating towards the home supporters.

Carter once again saluted the never-say-die attitude of his troops.

The Moneyfields boss said: ‘I thought the first sending off was harsh because we had players covering.

‘Lewis was deemed guilty of over exuberant goal celebrations in front of the home fans.

‘But the great thing about this team is they won’t accept defeat.

‘Going down to 10 men is something we have had to deal with quite a few times in the past couple of seasons.

‘When it happens we have learned to deal with it.’

Moneys led after seven minutes through a trademark Poate free-kick – the former Hawks and Gosport Borough defender bending the ball into the top corner.

Both teams hit the woodwork before the hosts levelled with a 58th-minute penalty.

Moneys looked to be heading for their first league defeat when Diamonds went in front on 82 minutes

The fears were heightened with Poate’s dismissal almost immediately afterwards.

But Carter’s side once again showed their quality in the face of adversity.

Hutchings rose in the area to get on the end of a free-kick and score with a glancing header.

‘It was a fair result because we were the better side in the first half and they had the second,’ added Carter.

‘This is a massive result because Rushden are one of the strongest teams in the division.

‘It was always going to be a battle because we had a number of players missing.

‘We had a lot of square pegs in round holes.

‘When Rushden changed the way they played in the second half we didn’t have the flexibility to match them.’

Moneys top the table by five points from Cambridge City.

They entertain Basingstoke Town in the league cup at Dover Road tomorrow (7.45pm).