Chesham 1 - Bishops Stortford 1.

(Ryman League Premier Division).

Battling Bishops Stortford survived by the narrowest of margins to fight another day in the Ryman Premier Division.

In the end a single point was enough to take them to safety, but their season went down to the wire, as relegation rivals Yeading staged a late comeback in their own game to leave Stortford boss Paul Taylor a relieved man at the final whistle.

Its been a tense weekend thats for sure. In the end it was a massive relief to find wed stayed up. smiled a satisfied Taylor at the finish.

With four teams still in the relegation shake-up going into the final day, Stortford knew they had to match whatever result Yeading managed in their home game with Harrow to make their survival secure.

With ten minutes remaining against Harrow, Yeading came back from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw against Harrow and with Stortford hanging on to a point themselves their season was in the balance.

But in the end a draw was enough. Although both teams finished on identical points, along with Aylesbury, and goal difference it was to be the extra four goals which Stortford had scored which kept them up and sent Yeading down to Division One with Hitchin and Oxford City.

At first it had looked as though Stortford could be in serious trouble. They made a nervous start and their hosts took advantage of this to take the lead in the 13th minute through a close-range header from Trevor Argrave.

Chesham continued to dominate and Stortford didnt even begin to threaten a reply.

Only a goal-line clearance from Paul Campbell kept the score down at half-time and the best news at the break must have been that Yeading were also trailing.

Thankfully the second half was a different story. After more pressure, Stortford began to fight their way back into the game and were rewarded with a well-taken equaliser.

David Adekola was put clear down the right wing and when he pulled the ball back inside the six yard box, debut boy Marc Taylor was on hand to sweep the ball home from close range.

It nearly got even better for the Stortford men, Tony Comerford smashing a long-range volley against the post as they pressed for the winner which would guarantee survival.

But then came the news of two goals in a minute for Yeading, which changed the whole outlook of the afternoon. Another goal for them and a draw would no longer be enough to keep Stortford up.

But it was to be Paul Taylor who was to be the manager with a smile on his face as the results stayed the same way.

I always believed wed stay up, said the delighted Taylor. We had a dreadful first half but we steadied the ship to make sure we got something out of the game.

Taylor revealed how news had come through from Yeading throughout the afternoon to keep him in touch with what Stortford needed. He said: I had a man over at Yeading giving me updates on the score. In the last ten minutes he was giving me a full commentary, thats how close it was, he laughed.

All of a sudden it looked like we might have to win the game and that might have been a problem.

But it didnt come down to that in the end and we just had to hold on.

Weve had a difficult season, commented Taylor, but the fans and the players have been magnificent.

I cant fault the commitment from the team at all, and the fans have been a different class. I just hope we dont put everyone through it again next season.

Its important we build on this achievement, and keep the club moving in the right direction from now on.

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