** LEICESTER ACADEMICALS 3-3 FROLESWORTH UNITED**
JACK Boulton fired home a 94th minute equaliser to spare Frolesworth blushes in a pulsating encounter at Manor Road, as the Rabbits bravely fought back from 2-0 and then 3-2 down to salvage their first draw of the season.
The centre-half, who had been thrown up front for the final 10 minutes, smashed home a loose ball in the box off the underside of the crossbar with the final kick of the game to spark jubilant scenes from the visitors.
The Rabbits had initially trailed by two-goals at the break, but they hauled themselves level thanks to goals from Joe Cook and then Daniel Herring, but in a bizarre turn of events Academicals went straight down the other end from kick off to regain the lead.
But Boulton popped up in the right place at the right time, to rifle home a deflected leveller and rescue a valuable point for Ben Harris' side.
United made the trip to Oadby off the back of a 4-1 defeat at the hands of table-toppers Kirby Muxloe, and were keen to exorcise the demons from last season's disastrous 5-4 defeat here on the opening day.
Manager Harris decided to name an unchanged back-four, in spite of last week's lacklustre defensive display, but Luke Evans returned at the expense of Jake Pantony, who was absent due to a weekend away with his amazing girlfriend much to the frustration of his team-mates.
Jack Sutherland returned on the left, while Miles Splevings retained his place on the right, with Cook in the hole behind target man Herring and Harris named a four-man bench, which again included Joe Swanwick and Martin Finnigan, as well as a surprise in the form of Assistant Manager Jordan Halford and Chairman Josh Baines.
And indeed, the visitors started brightly and came close to opening the scoring through lone striker Herring. Steven Bottom sent the pacy Splevings racing in behind and he whipped the ball across to Herring, who hit the ball swiftly first time, only to see his effort cannon back off the cross bar.
It was a chance United would live to regret, too, as they fell behind largely against the run of play just before the half-hour in typical circumstances. Mark James failed to prevent a cross into the box on the right-hand side, and Jack Rudman could do nothing to stop two Academicals players lining up to convert at the back-post.
It certainly left the Country Boys shell-shocked, as they failed to conjure up any real chances before they found themselves facing a two-goal deficit four minutes before the break.
United were once again at sixes and sevens at the back, as captain Mark Baker stepped up in attempt to play the offside trap, however, centre-half partner Boulton wasn't on the same wavelength and Rudman was this time turned inside out as the helpless Matt Errington found himself picking the ball out of his net for the second time.
Frolesworth would then squander great chance moments before the break to get themselves back in the game, as Cook somehow blazed over from close range after Sutherland's right-footed drive had been parried.
Harris was left facing a mammoth task to get his side back into the game, and he decided to switch from his side's familiar 4-2-3-1 to a more attacking 4-4-2. Splevings and Sutherland lined up on the wings, with Herring and Bottom in midfield behind a strike force of Evans and Cook.
But after just 15 minutes of the second-half, Harris would make a double change that would completely alter the dynamic of his team and indeed the result, as United hit back with two goals in just ten minutes to square things up.
Swanwick replaced Evans, who failed to make an impact up front and Finnigan replaced Rudman, who had struggled throughout. Bottom moved to centre-half, meaning captain Baker was free to lead by example in the middle of the park.
And within just a minute, Frolesworth had given themselves a glimmer of hope. Splevings once again raced in behind and unselfishly squared to Cook, who atoned for his miss in the first period and notched his fifth of the season.
The goal certainly reinvigorated the Rabbits, who remarkably levelled just eight minutes later this time through Herring. Sutherland, who had been sprightly throughout the second period, was hauled down just inside the opposing half and he dusted himself down to deliver a looping free-kick to the back post. And the hosts got their offside trap all wrong, leaving Baker with the simplest of passes across the goal for Herring to score his first goal in claret since his return from Plymouth.
But astonishingly, no sooner had Frolesworth hauled themselves level, than they were facing another uphill battle as they fell 3-2 just under 60 seconds later. The visitors fell asleep from kick-off, and the Greens swept forward to grab the advantage and undo all of United’s hard work.
There was no time to draw breath and incredibly there was still 20 minutes remaining on the clock as Errington, who was powerless to prevent all three goals, earnt his stripes with arguably the save of the season.
It looked for the entire world as if Academicals would tie things up with a killer fourth goal, but they were denied by the studs of Errington's boots as he was at full-stretch to somehow turn the ball away.
And it would certainly prove to be the turning point, as the visitors enjoyed their reprieve and themselves began to turn the screw in search of a second equaliser in the game. Harris desperately switched to a 3-4-3 formation, hurling Boulton up front alongside Herring and Cook and with ten minutes to play, Herring had the ball in the net for the second time, but his effort was wrongly ruled out for offside much to Harris' disgust.
Cook then shaved the post with a curling effort, as it looked as though Frolesworth would go back to the Warren with nothing to show for their efforts. But deep into stoppage time, Herring flicked on Mark James' long throw and the ball somehow fell to Boulton, who lashed home a dramatic late equaliser off the crossbar via the aid of a deflection to spark pandemonium on the touchline and earn the Rabbits a valuable point.
FROLESWORTH: ERRINGTON 7, JAMES 6, BAKER 7, BOULTON 7, RUDMAN 5, EVANS 6, BOTTOM 7, SUTHERLAND 7, SPLEVINGS 7, COOK 8 (MOM), HERRING 8. SUBS: FINNIGAN 7, SWANWICK 7.
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