Yetminster Sharks produced a superb attacking performance but were denied late in stoppage time by a robust Dolphin Hotel side at the Shark Pond. The visitors snatched the opening goal in controversial fashion, with Norton Payne seemingly impeded from a Hotel corner that seemed to stop him from making an attempt to clear the loose ball.
The hosts responded magnificently however, and were soon on level terms, a looping ball from Luke Conway wide on the right glanced off a defender, with Sam Murley inadvertently guiding Lawrence Hallett's driven effort in at the near post.
Murley was in the thick of the action again scarcely 3 minutes later, beating Dolphin goalkeeper Adam Rolls after latching onto another excellently placed delivery from Conway on the right-hand-side, poking the ball past the on-rushing Hotel stopper to turn the game on its head.
The prolific Yetminster striker continued his excellent form and became the first Yetminster Sharks player to score a hattrick on 29 minutes, meeting a Hallett through-ball and firing past Rolls with aplomb.
The Dolphins looked to regain their focus, and halved the deficit with half-time looming large, Daniel Ness pouncing on the loose ball to fire a low shot underneath Payne.
After the break the Dolphins began to exert some authority and shortly after the hour-mark Ness put the visitors on level-terms from a direct free-kick.
As the game moved into the final quarter Ben Jones withdrew Kade Masters to bring on Assistant Manager Adam Marsh, only to then see midfield general Lawrence Hallett pull up having received a challenge up towards his knee that left the left-footed flyer bleeding through his sock. With Marsh and club-captain Sam Carver introduced to the fray, the Sharks restored their goal advantage.
A wonderfully weighted cross from Jamie Lukosius on the right-hand-side was fired home with a bullet header as James Dowding leapt like a salmon to power the ball low back across goal and into the bottom corner. Cue wild celebrations from Dowding who, having never previously scored for the Sharks before this season, now has 2 goals in 4 games.
Jones was forced into another late change and with Matt Turner pulling up with a tight hamstring, Nathan Ruscoe was introduced to the action, leaving Yetminster's midfield comprising 1 central midfielder flanked by a pair of wingers in Ruscoe and Conway.
Thus began a gallant and brave defence of the Yetminster lead, but there was to be a cruel late sting in the tail for the Sharks, with time more or less up on the clock, a bouncing ball inside the box was laid off by Charlie Browne, and John Hunt was on hand to drive home the latest of equalisers to break Yetminster hearts.
Albeit forced to settle for a point at the end of an absorbing encounter, Yetminster move up to 9th in the Blackmore Vale Football League, and travel to face badly out-of-form Team Gryphon on Tuesday night with some confidence having gotten themselves off the mark here.
