Captain Paris Hamilton-Downes literally stepped up to the mark during our thrilling draw against league leaders Dorking Wanderers this week, writes James Barrett.
We've missed our last three awarded penalties and so the defender took on the responsibility when we were awarded two on Monday night, converting one in each half during the eventual 3-3 draw.
 |
| On the spot: Paris Hamilton-Downes |
That point keeps us on the fringes of the Ryman South play-off positions but it also stretched a winless run to six matches.
“We’ve not enjoyed a good run over the past four weeks but we feel like this result could be a turning point,” said Hamilton-Downes.
“Dorking will probably go up as champions, and we lost at theirs earlier this season, so we’ve taken what could be an important point for us off them.
“I said in the dressing room after our game at Chipstead that I’d be willing to take the next penalty we got. I felt greater pressure on the second one to be honest but it felt great to see them both go in.”
Alongside Hamilton-Downes’ two goals, debutant Jordan Bird endeared himself to the Colston Avenue faithful by notching our third on 71 minutes.
But history repeated itself as, like against both Tooting & Mitcham United and Sittingbourne recently, we conceded a late equaliser that ultimately cost us potential victory.
“The management team have told us not to panic despite that happening again,” added Hamilton-Downes. “We’ve got a good squad here and the two new faces coming in this week (the other being striker Omar Folkes) will help add to the mix.”
Our next match is at home against struggling Chatham Town on Saturday 14th January (kick-off 3pm).