Wednesday's Ryman Premier action review

By David Watters

The top two in the Ryman Premier were both in action on Wednesday night with leaders Hampton & Richmond Borough extending their advantage at the top to three points despite being held to a 2-2 draw at Leatherhead, writes Pitchero's Steve Whitney.

While Hamlet could't find a way back at Lewes in a 3-1 reverse, Hampton did bounce back from being two down at Fetcham Grove to salvage a point with a last-gasp leveller.

After Frannie Collins had taken advantage of some slack Beavers defending in the second minute to give the Tanners the lead, Kiernan Hughes-Mason flicked a header past Joe McDonnell to make it 2-0 in front of the crowd of 367 with just 13 minutes gone on the clock.

Hampton slowly gained the upper hand but it took until the 68th minute for the first goal to come when a Tom Jelley cross was flicked over keeper Louis Wells' head by home defender Steve Watt while under pressure from Nicke Kabamba.

Ryman League

Ryman League

This galvanised the Beavers and with seconds remaining, Moussa Diarra managed to get his head to a Jamal Lowe cross to beat Wells and snatch a point.

Dulwich suffered another defeat against a relegation-threatened side as their promotion push faltered again.

In front of a good crowd of 424, Lewes went ahead after 36 minutes when a free-kick was not cleared and the ball was returned into the box for the unmarked Jonteh Smith to score.

As the game entered added time at the end of the first half, Dulwich conceded a calamitous second, Jordan Brown inexplicably deciding to pass back to his keeper Phil Wilson and Alex Laing intercepting to round the stopper and score.

Dulwich then grabbed a lifeline in the 62nd minute when Jacob Erskine switched the ball to Nyren Clunis, whose cross was thumped home by Danny Waldron.

However, any hopes of a comeback were extinguished in the 68th minute when the Rooks made it 3-1 - James Hammond curling a fine 25-yard effort over Wilson.

The victory lifted Lewes to within a point of second-bottom Farnborough but they are still ten adrift of the safety-mark.

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Where next?

Hilton returns to rescue Wroxham Former Yachtsmen star Damian Hilton is on a mission to keep Wroxham in the Ryman League after returning as manager for a second time.
Top two lead live scores! Stay in touch with the race for the Ryman's top flight title on Wednesday night's live scores service.

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