Mixed feelings as Borough are held in survival fight

Borough were held to a 1-1 draw by fellow strugglers Weston-super-Mare in a tense but exciting affair at Privett Park.

With five games left to play, Alex Pike’s side are four points adrift of safety.

Borough took an early lead through Sam Lanahan but were infuriated when the Seagulls equalised in contentious circumstances on the half hour.

Danny Thompson felt his team had every right to be aggrieved.

‘Tony Lee got fouled on the halfway line and went down with a head injury,’ said the Borough coach.

‘The referee put his whistle to his lips but didn’t blow.

‘Some of our players stopped and that allowed Weston to go up field and get a shot off which ended up in the corner of our goal.

‘Nine times out of 10 the official would have stopped the game.

‘That is the way the luck goes for you when you are at the bottom, though.

‘In all honestly, a draw was a fair result because we didn’t really do enough to win the game.’

Lanahan gave Borough an 11th-minute lead when he applied the crucial touch to Joe Lea’s cross at the near post.

Weston recovered to put the home side under pressure and the hosts escaped when an Aden Baldwin header was cleared off the goalline.

However, Dayle Grubb took full advantage to equalise when Borough paid the price for not playing to the whistle.

A tense but thrilling second half saw both sides have clear chances without being able to find a winning goal.

‘We have got five games left to save ourselves,’ added Thompson.

‘The mood in the camp is still very positive and the players are confident they can pull it off.

‘We still have to play Bishop’s Stortford and Whitehawk who are down there with us.’

Elsewhere, Petersfield Town’s misery continued with a 7-0 home defeat at the hands of AFC Dunstable in Southern League division one central.

The game was over as a contest by half-time with the Rams conceding five goals in the opening 45 minutes at Love Lane.