Bromley and Beckenham 4, Harleston 4Harleston 1st XI, sponsored by Hunton Legg, made the long trip to Bromley and Beckenham knowing that a win would push them up the table and away from the struggle at the bottom.

Bromley and Beckenham 4, Harleston 4

Harleston 1st XI, sponsored by Hunton Legg, made the long trip to Bromley and Beckenham knowing that a win would push them up the table and away from the struggle at the bottom.

The opposition were also chasing three much needed points to help lift themselves towards safety and had the home advantage.

With both teams desperate to avoid a loss the game was started in a cagey manor with both teams creating little going forwards. Halfway through the first half the stalemate was eventually broken by Magpies when Andy Hipwell converted a penalty corner that was won after a sustained period of pressure applied by the hard working Harleston forwards.

This suddenly forced Bromley into action and they soon equalised from a penalty corner of their own, capitalising on the sudden hail storm. With both the teams now confident of more goals the game became much more open which suited Magpie's superior pace. This extra gear allowed Harleston to regain the lead after a quick break from Ben Wright and fast thinking set up Duncan Graves to clinically finish from the top of the circle for his first goal in 10 games, giving the visitors a deserved 2-1 lead at the break.

The second half once again started with few chances being created as Magpies looked to consolidate their lead. Bromley however had other ideas and with the decisions starting to go their way they once again equalised after Magpies failed to properly deal with a penalty corner.

Bromley's joy did not last long as Magpies converted their superior possession into a third goal after a fine break from Tristan Baines and Duncan Graves resulted in a calm finish from James Fanger to open his National League account.

With the game getting more physical Magpies were left to rue a spell of ill discipline during which Andy Hipwell was sin binned and Bromley managed to equalise from a dubious penalty corner to tie the game for the third time.

Bromley then used the change of momentum to turn the game on its head by taking the lead for the first time of the game after converting their fourth penalty corner.

With time running out the Bromley supporters seemed to think that the job had been done, but Magpie's were not finished. Straight from the restart Harleston attacked the Bromley circle at pace and drew the scores level with Pete Bale powering through the circle and setting up Graves for an easy second and Magpies' fourth.

With five minutes left Magpies dominated possession and territory and with two Bromley players sin binned for breaking down play and violent conduct a deserved win was looking within their grasp.

Unfortunately the clock ran out before Magpies could find the elusive winner.

While both teams failed to pick up the three points that they both wanted coming into this fixture Magpies will feel the harder done by.

On another day with fewer controversial decisions and a fair share of luck the team could have made sure of maximum points.