Last saturday a disappointing afternoon in Chiswick saw Richmond men's first XI held to a 2-2 draw by Purley Walcountians. The home side were missing midfielder Robert Woodhead and forward Tim Young who were out through injury.

Richmond made a dominant start, but were made to rue missed chances as Purley took a 1-0 lead. Richmond continued to dominate and found a breakthrough after Josh Smith slipped the ball to Steve Collier who rounded the keeper and placed a shot into the bottom corner.

The home side suffered a brief spell with ten men after Andrew Von Mayer received a yellow card.

Richmond came out strong in the second half and were rewarded as Ben Blake converted a penalty corner with a thunderous drag-flick. However, it was not to be for Richmond as they succumbed to pressure and conceded a soft goal with five minutes to go.

Despite a frantic final few minutes, Purley were able to hold on.

With one win, one loss and four draws from six South Premier League games, Richmond are gaining the status of draw specialists', not a title they want to stick. The club are currently drifting in mid-table obscurity, laying in seventh position, and are looking to string some results together in coming games.

Speaking after the match, captain Michael Absalom said: "At the moment we are doing more drawing than Rolf Harris. We need to start winning some games if we are to finish in the top four, which is our aim for the season."

This saturday Richmond will entertain bottom of the table City of Portsmouth at 1pm in Chiswick.