From 3-1 down to 4-3 winners – Lancing continue to climb Isthmian south east table

They arrived at the Homeland Stadium looking to extend an unbeaten run which comprised three wins and a draw. Ashford were lying in 5th place after an impressive run of five wins, one draw and one defeat in their past seven.

Whether the low temperature was a factor or not, Lancing were certainly caught cold after only three minutes. A quick counter attack down Lancing’s right flank ended with a delivery into the box which was swept home by joint top scorer Vance Bola.

Lancing were able to keep the fast moving Ashford midfield quiet for a while, and from a clever passage of play, Ashford were forced into conceding a corner. Charlie Gibson curled a fine cross into the box and Tyrone Madhani broke through a ruck of players to head home on 29 minutes.

Lancing could not stay level for long as, in the 35th minute, another forward dart, with Lancing appealing for offside, led to a well-struck effort on goal, which Louis Rogers did well to keep out, but the ball rebounded from him and Thomas Carlse drove it back past a couple of defenders, desperately trying to block it.

Three minutes later, Lancing fell further behind as the ball was given away, allowing Vince Bola to apply the finishing touch for his second.

Lancing were taking the game to the opposition in the second half and continued to drive forward – and got their reward on 59 minutes when Charlie Bennett rose to power home a header from a Gibson corner.

Rogers was on hand to keep Lancing’s hope of getting something from the game, making a first class save as an Ashford attacker ran clear to strike for goal. This was to prove vital as Lancing broke forward with Lukas Franzen-Jones being brought down. Referee Markwell had no hesitation in awarding a penalty, waving away Ashford protests. Franzen-Jones kept his cool and gave the keeper no chance as he brought his side level.

As the game approached seven minutes of added time, we could just about make out a ghostly figure resembling Pitcher motoring down the left towards the box. The next thing was the sound of raucous cheers from the Lancing players, which told us that he had found the back of the net. So, from a seemingly dead and buried position, Lancing had staged a fine second half recovery to earn all three points.

It was a fine team performance from Lancing, for whom George Taggart was named MoM.