Words: James Ede, Image: David Airey
TOM Carr scored a 95th-minute winner for Chorley as the Magpies beat Merthyr Town 2-3 at Penydarren Park.
The home team took a 2-0 lead within 25 minute but Andy Preece’s side fought back brilliantly to take all three points in South Wales.
Goals from Warren Clarke and Anjola Popoola levelled the game in the first half before substitute Carr won the game in the final seconds, causing memorable scenes for the travelling Magpies.
After more than four hours on the road, the game was delayed by ten minutes due to standing water on the pitch as rain hammered down in Merthyr Tydfil.
Chorley had a promising start, with Preece introducing a new diamond midfield to match up with the hosts’ formation, but fell behind in the 11th minute through Kiban Rai’s goal.
The visitors still looked threatening but again conceded when Tom Handley tapped home after 25 minutes from Lewys Twamley's smart cross.
However, a brilliant reaction saw the Magpies pull one back through Clarke seven minutes later, with the midfielder hitting a sweet half-volley past Jamie Cogman into the roof of the net.
The momentum stuck with them and it was made 2-2 minutes later by Anjola Popoola, scoring his second goal in a week.
Fellow loanee Taelor O’Kane played a lovely through ball for the striker and he did the business by rounding Cogman and converting into an open goal.
Max Wilson almost added two more before the break; his first effort hitting the post and his second a curling volley which Cogman punched away.
With Mike Calveley forced off with injury early in the second half, Adam Henley slotted alongside Harvey Smith in the centre of defence and made several important challenges.
Adam Blakeman’s long throw-ins looked to be Chorley’s biggest threat as they continued to search for a winner, but time seemed to be running out.
Popoola almost won the game in the 90th minute but saw Matthew Harris make a goal-line sliding clearance to deny him of a second goal.
All said and done, in the end, Carr stepped up when it mattered most, running onto Popoola’s ball and chipping Cogman to cue ecstatic scenes in front of the away fans.
His match-winning goal secured the Magpies’ first away win in the league since August and saw them move up to 14th in the Enterprise National League North.
