Leatherhead 1 Fleet Town 1

Leatherhead and Fleet shared the points in this entertaining end-to-end contest at Fetcham Grove.

The match was played at a fast and furious pace throughout, with neither side prepared to settle for anything fewer than three points.

Tanners boss Mick Sullivan gave a home debut to Jack MacLeod, the pacy winger signed last week from Guildford City.

Greg Andrews and Tommy Hutchings came back to the line up after starting from the bench at Folkestone, while Adrian Jones returned in goal in place of Colin Harris. The first half was played at a blistering pace. Leatherhead’s first corner came after 12 minutes and saw Chris Boulter again leaping above his marker at the far post.

But the Tanners captain was unable to find the target as his powerful header sailed over the bar.

Leatherhead continued pushing forward, making probing runs through Fleet’s defence.

After 21 minutes, Hutchings pulled away from his marker and found Andrews with room to shoot from 30 yards.

Fleet’s keeper, Lyall Beazley, got down well, not only making a good save but also holding on to the rasping shot.

Midway through the half, Hutchings broke clear of his marker and hit another one of his trademark left foot drives from 25 yards; this time it went narrowly over the crossbar.

Fleet were able to break quickly and Nathan Smart whipped a diagonal ball into the Tanners box that went through a crowd of players before going out for a goal kick.

The Leatherhead defence absorbed the visitors’ attacks, and Jones had to stay sharp to make a couple of good stops as Fleet hit shots from distance before half-time.

Leatherhead broke the deadlock with a goal three minutes into the second period.

Again, Hutchings cleverly turned his marker and drilled an inch-perfect 30-yard lob across the penalty area, picking out Andrews by the far post.

Andrews waited patiently for the ball to drop before firmly volleying it past Beazley and into the empty net.

Fleet came back at Leatherhead but missed the easiest of chances.

A breakaway split the home defence, leaving a Fleet player unmarked in front of goal with what should have been the simple task of heading in from five yards.

But, somehow, the player failed to hit the target as his effort went high over the bar.

Leatherhead had a strong shout for a penalty after 58 minutes when Hutchings, moving at pace in the box, clearly had his shirt tugged by Fleet captain Steve Noakes.

The referee ignored the vociferous appeals and inexplicably waved play on.

Fleet continued to look dangerous on the break and equalised after 60 minutes with a well-executed goal from Dan Read.

A high, probing ball from the halfway line split the Tanners defence, bouncing once in front of Read before being thumped home past Jones from 30 yards.

Leatherhead had an opportunity to grab a late winner when they were awarded a direct free-kick 25 yards from goal after MacLeod was bundled off the ball by Noakes, but on this occasion the dead ball specialist Andrews was unable to find the target.

On the balance of play, a draw was a fair result as it would have been hard for either side to come away from this keenly contested match with nothing to show for their efforts.

Leatherhead: Adrian Jones, Tom Williams, Rob Hill, Chris Boulter, Dan Dean, Luke Pigden, Jack MacLeod, Mark Simmons, Greg Andrews (Matt Francis), Tommy Hutchings (Dominic O’Shea), Elliott Thompson.