A late brace from substitute Ben Godfrey saved the day for Croydon Athletic as they recorded a 2-1 win at Chatham Town to keep themselves in pole position for automatic promotion.
The first 15 minutes of the match saw Gary Noel have two clear chances, picking up the ball from crosses into the box from Chris Piper and Danny Waldren respectively.
A foul on Noel appeared to be inside the box, but the referee judged it to be outside the area despite the penalty shouts.
At the other end of the pitch in the 23rd minute there was judged to be a handball in the Croydon penalty box and Chatham stepped up for the spot kick. However Andy Little made three superb saves, one from the penalty and the other two from the rebounds that were blasted towards him.
Chatham got the all important first goal in the 29th minute, when a corner kick was swung in and Ray Powell stuck the ball into the back of the net cleanly to put the home side ahead.
With Croydon unable to make any real impact on the match, Chatham continued to press forward with a shot from Powell on the turn going just wide early in the second half.
There was a big blow for the Rams in the 70th minute when Chris Piper pulled up with a hamstring problem, and limped off with the bad news that he would be unable to play another game this season.
Tim O’Shea made a few substitutions half way though the second half bringing on Leslie Thompson, Bentley Graham and Godfrey and as the game wore on Croydon were pressing for the equaliser, with Waldren coming close with a header in the 83rd minute.
With the minutes ticking away, a cross into the box from Jacob Erskine fell to Gareth Williams and his shot rebounded off the bar to Godfrey to knock it home and level the scores in the 88th minute.
In injury time, Joe Dolan laid the ball on for Godfrey again, and he made no mistake in hitting it home and snatching the points for the Rams.
A close call for the Rams and a tough battle but it is the result that matters at the end of the day and it was a very happy Athletic side that meandered its way back to Croydon Saturday night.
Folkestone Invicta remain four points behind after a 3-1 win over Whitstable Town and have a game in hand, while Worthing have now fallen 11 points back with just four games to play.
Croydon Athletic: Andy Little, Joe Howe, Nathan Green, Danny Waldren, Joe Dolan, Jacob Erskine, Jeremy Williams (Leslie Thompson, 58), Chris Piper (Bentley Graham, 70), Gareth Williams, Gary Noel, Rory Hill (Ben Godfrey, 73). Subs not used: Marco Bianchi, Taurean McDonald-Roberts.
Remaining games: Apr 13 Burgess Hill Town(a), 15 AFC Wimbledon (London Senior Cup, a), 17 Whyteleafe (a), 20 Folkestone Invicta (a), 24 Ramsgate (h).
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