Littlehampton Town were hoping to build on Tuesday’s victory over AFC Croydon Athletic that lifted them out of the relegation zone as they welcomed Erith Town to the Sportsfield.
The visitors are sitting comfortably mid-table in their first season at Step 4 level and had convincingly won the reverse fixture between the clubs just before Christmas.
Golds therefore knew it would be no easy task and the dry bumpy surface was of no help to either side. It meant graft took precedence over craft until the 23rd minute when Erith took the lead with the first moment of real quality. Some slick passing freed James Dyer who finished with aplomb from the edge of the box.
They kept the lead until the interval but Littlehampton started the second half with renewed purpose as they did in midweek and equalised in the 52nd minute. A routine ball went forward into the Erith box that didn’t immediately seem too dangerous.
However joint player manager George Gaskin reacted fastest by peeling off the last defender and hooking a sublime volley home over his shoulder.
Both sides huffed and puffed in search of a winner but Thomas Butler and Nick D’Arienzo repeated their rock solid performances from Tuesday at the heart of the Golds defence. Tijan Sparks and Ryan Yoro-Thomas were equally impressive dealing with some tricky customers on the flanks.
It meant James Binfield enjoyed a pretty comfortable afternoon in goal but by the same token Golds struggled to test Erith keeper Harrison Firth.
Honours stayed deservedly even and with Phoenix Sports drawing with Ashford Utd it’s as you were at the foot of the table.