BRENDON King was forced to field a threadbare side at struggling Blandford on Saturday after he was refused permission to postpone the clash.

Not only were the Terras missing Mark Robinson, Callum Ross-Jennins and Mike Rousell through injury but they also had to do without Luke Winspur, Lloyd Beals and Aston Butcher, who were all on duty for the county under-18s.

Those absentees forced King to get Lewis Ironside and Sam Poole out of their sick beds and sign on 42-year-old Darren Whyton, and in the end he was delighted to pick up a point, particularly after going 2-0 down, following strikes from Joey Marshall and Kevin Davies.

“I tried to call the game off on Thursday but even though we had three players in the under-18s squad the Dorset FA refused us permission,” said King.

“It seems to be one rule for one, and one rule for another because Portland United Reserves were allowed to call off their game against Upwey & Broadwey in the Dorset Senior League for exactly the same reason.

“I was told we would receive a £200 fine and a three-point deduction if we did not play, which meant we had to sign on Darren, who joined me and Mark Carter on the bench, and get Lewis and Sam to play, who had both been ill all week.

“I was obviously a bit annoyed about the whole situation but in the end we ground out a result and showed some good character to come back from two down.

“The only disappointing aspect for us was the way we conceded, as both goals were down to mistakes.

“The first one came before half-time when Adam Taylor got caught in possession in the middle of midfield, allowing them to send a ball over the top.

“Austin Byfield called to Sam to head it clear but instead he tried to nod it back and one of their lads got in and put it away.

“As for the second, Lewis tried to nick the ball around a lad when he really should have just cleared it and that allowed them to square it for an easy tap-in.

“Mistakes happen though, and as long as they learn from it, then that is okay because that is all part of their development.”

At 2-0 down, it looked like the Terras were heading for their first defeat of the season but they found a route back into the game when Matt Morley’s fantastic run and cross led to a goalmouth scramble, which saw Warren White pull one back.

That set up a grandstand finish, and with just five minutes remaining, Ben Reiffer produced a moment of magic to salvage a point.

The talented playmaker cushioned the ball on his chest, shimmied past an opponent, and then let fly with a thunderous strike from 20 yards, which found the top corner of the net, much to the delight of King.

He added: “The average age of our starting line-up was 19 with Warren being the oldest at 24. In fact the combined age of the bench was almost more than that on the pitch!

“We had three under-18s in there and I thought Eddy Mitchell, at just 17, was tremendous at the back again and showed great maturity.”

The draw may have ended a winning streak of seven games for the Terras but they remain unbeaten in the Magna Dorset Premier League in third spot, just two points adrift of leaders Portland United with three games in hand.

Terras: Byfield, Ironside, Mitchell, Poole, McKech-nie, Head (D Whyton 75), Reiffer, Taylor, Richardson, White, Morley. Subs not used: King, Carter.