Newport IOW 2 Petersfield Town 2: PETERSFIELD Town closed out their Wessex League season with an entertaining draw on the Isle of Wight on Monday evening.

And if it wasn’t for a late penalty and an inspired performance by the home goalkeeper throughout this encounter, they would have returned back across the Solent with all three points.

If they had won the result would have been justified thanks to another performance which offered glimpses of what the future could hold for the Rams.

The home side took the lead on 30 minutes. A corner from the left found Martin McDonough unmarked inside the six yard box and he guided his header into the roof of the net.

Petersfield equalised on 67 minutes when they got Billy Connor into space on the right. He cut inside the penalty area before hitting a shot low across Ryan Hall which flew past the home keeper and into the far corner of the net.

The Rams got a deserved second goal on 72 minutes when Connor held up a long through ball on the left hand side of the penalty area. He then pulled the ball back into the path of the onrushing Will Essai and he drilled a low shot past Hall into the net.

The visitors’ hopes of victory were dashed on 84 minutes when substitute Lewis Wright ran across the edge of the box and when he and Marvin Orepo came together the referee judged it to have been a foul and awarded a penalty, which Charlie Urry dispatched past Eaton.