Upwey & Broadwey were unfortunate not to claim all three points at Wareham Rangers after producing a sterling second-half performance and hitting the woodwork four times.

Steve Reynolds had to manage without the likes of Clinton Coltart, Jason Pearce, Justin Crawford and Darren Samways on the day but the strength of his talented squad shone through as they tore their opponents apart with some fantastic free-flowing football.

Clinton Coltart’s absence through suspension and a shoulder injury sustained by fellow keeper Anthony McLucas meant Dave Smith was drafted in on the eve of the contest and he had a big part to play in the opening goal, which saw the hosts take the lead inside four minutes.

The unfortunate stopper did superbly to race off his line to stop a Wareham forward from bearing down on goal but his powerful clearance bizarrely rebounded off another opponent’s chest and straight to the feet of a third Ranger who gladly put the ball into the unguarded net.

Such a case of misfortune could have easily had an adverse effect on Upwey’s spirit but they managed to hold their nerve and as the game went on the stronger they became.

Richard Frost and Phil Anderson both saw efforts ricochet back off the crossbar, and Ty Young struck a post before the visitors were then denied what they felt was a stonewall penalty on 65 minutes when substitute Dan McDonald appeared to have his heels clipped when clear through on goal.

The referee’s decision not to award a spot-kick began to make Upwey wonder whether they were ever going to equalise but eventually their dominance was rewarded when Ben Coltart sent a wonderful shot with the outside of his right-boot into the corner of the net from just outside the area.

It was a fantastic strike and it set up a thrilling finale, which saw Sean Zima go closest to fashioning a winner with a wonderful free-kick, which agonisingly rebounded back off an upright.

Reynolds said: “Our second half display was probably the best we have played. We won the ball back quickly, and our passing and movement was superb as we mounted wave after wave of attacks.

“To Wareham’s credit they held out for a draw and although we did not come away with all three points, I was more than satisfied because if we can start producing that type of performance on a consistent basis we will have no problems.”

Reynolds was particularly impressed by the impact McDonald made after he replaced Young on the hour.

He added: “Dan was magnificent. He came on and was instrumental in everything and was very unfortunate not to win us what looked like a blatant penalty. He also laid on the pass that led to Ben’s equaliser.”

Upwey: Smith, Purnell (Coombs 46), Anderson, D McLucas, Porteus, Zima, Jarvis, Frost, Devaney, B Coltart, Young (McDonald 60).