CHIPPENHAM Town manager Mark Collier said anything less than a point for his side against Dulwich Hamlet in National League South on Saturday would have been a ‘travesty’ following their 2-2 draw at Hardenhuish Park.

Celebrating a century since the first game at the stadium in 1919, Karnell Chambers’ late strike snatched what the Bluebirds’ boss called a deserved equaliser against one of the division’s powerhouses.

Swindon Town loanee Luke Haines got Chippenham off to the perfect start in the sixth minute, heading home George Rigg’s cross before the visitors tied the game in the 23rd minute.

Chippenham continued to impose their game on Dulwich, but appeared to have lost their point when the visitors struck with less than 10 minutes to play.

However, in added time, Chambers popped up to rescue Collier’s men and notch another valuable National League South point.

“I’m pleased to get something from the game because we absolutely deserved it,” said Collier.

“If we would have come off the pitch at 5 o’clock without anything, it would have been a travesty really.

“Dulwich are one of the big clubs in the division, and they were one of the pre-season favourites for promotion, but we’ve outplayed them for long periods.

“They’ve had some decent chances as well, however, we’re still disappointed to go 2-1 down, and when you’re 2-1 down with eight minutes to go, you fear the worst.

“Especially after playing 120 minutes in a tough game on Tuesday, we’ve shown some top spirit and application to get what we feel is a deserved point as an absolute minimum.”

Saturday’s draw means Chippenham are now unbeaten in three in the league while Dulwich have failed to claim victory in the league since their 3-0 win away at Eastbourne Borough on August 24.

The Chippenham manager felt his side missed a big opportunity to claim maximum points against a team that will likely be fighting for a place in the National League Premier come April.

Collier said: “They’ll be disappointed they haven’t got three points because they’re not in a great run of form in the league, but they’ve got some top players and we’ve gone toe to toe with them.

“They may well say the same thing because they got so close, but we more than deserved an equaliser. We more than deserved a point.

“I’m pleased with the point, but disappointed for the players that they haven’t got more because their work and application deserved it.”