A FORTNIGHT after they suffered a 4-0 loss at the hands of neighbours Sutton Benger, Christian Malford were hoping to avenge that loss with their first league win in 26 outings and deny their hosts at Stanley Park the chance to move to the summit of Division Two.

Malford may not have got the win they were after but a 3-3 draw not only stopped Benger from going top it gave them their first point since they drew with Benger back in February.

Malford started brightly with the wind at their backs and surprised the Benger defence with some direct running.

After 10 minutes a through ball from midfield found Ashley Fletcher whose low shot beat the advancing keeper to give Malford a 1-0 lead.

Benger hit back two minutes later when despite a brave attempt by Malford keeper Jason Frayling to collect a rebound from a fierce shot, Chris Casey scored for Benger at the second attempt to level the scores at 1-1.

Play then went from end to end with neither team being able to dominate.

After 25 minutes some nice work from James Weston on the left allowed Simon McCarthy to score at the post to give Benger a 2-1 lead.

Malford worked hard to equalise and began to use corners to good effect. Benger keeper Ryan Berry having to push James Pope’s goal bound header on to the crossbar to maintain their lead.

In the 44th minute another corner from the left from Harry Fenwick allowed Rob Hurkett to head home the equaliser for Malford.

Malford began the second half brightly and a weak back pass allowed Ashley Fletcher to take the ball round the Benger keeper to score his second of the day and give Malford a 3-2 lead.

Malford pressed to increase their lead but the Benger defence held firm. Benger then began to use the wind to their advantage and after 71 minutes a shot from left back Luke Todd from the edge of the area levelled the score at 3-3.

Benger then dominated as they pushed hard for a winner, likewise Malford worked hard to maintain their point, albeit also relieved to hear the final whistle from Nigel Fisher who had a good game in the middle.

A 4-1 victory for Lavington Rangers over Old Road FC gave Pete Drew’s side a fourth win on the bounce and was good enough to take them to second place in the table, behind leaders the Grapes United on goal difference.

Lavington fell behind to an excellent goal from Andy Rose who chipped two defenders before taking the ball around the keeper to score, but thanks Kieran Chivers first ever goal for the club they managed to square things ups before half time.

A sublime 20 yard strike from Jack Penfold which was also his first ever league goal put Lavington 2-1 in front, Cullen Wylie bagged the next two goals to seal an excellent 4-1 triumph for the hosts.

After their effort to find a new pitch early in the week after their previous venue at Buckley Barracks was taken away from them The Mallard FC managed to get a return to Goatacre and their first outing at the venue saw them pick up a valuable 3 points after they came from behind to defeat fellow relegation candidates Miller Sports B 4-2.

Jason Hudson may have given Mallard the lead with his first goal for the club but they found themselves 2-1 down at the break as Brendan Knight from the penalty spot and Nathan Drew turned things around for Miller Sports.

Aaron Hall got Mallard back on level terms when he opened his account for the club, a first goal of the season from Mark Lazenby saw Mallard regain the lead and the points were made safe thanks to a second of the morning from Hall.