Linby left it late to level this afternoon as they came from 3-1 down to draw with Pinxton at Church Lane, writes Kieran Booker.

On a bitter cold afternoon it was the home side who took the lead through Jonathan Jenkinson before some defensive mistakes let striker Oliver Naylor grab himself a hat-trick with goals either side of half time.

A Tyler Guy penalty and another Jonathan Jenkinson strike levelled things at the death.

The first real chance of the game fell to Linby’s Aidy Harris, the playmaker was put through one on one with Wayne Smith. The home side’s captain attempted an audacious chip over the Pinxton keeper but could only see his effort drop wide of the post.

Pinxton had a good opportunity from a set-piece after 20 minutes when Steve Johnson-Fikula was booked for bringing down his man on the edge of the Linby box. The free-kick beat the wall but could only hit the outside of Jamie Davies’ post as it bounced clear of danger.

Three minutes later, Linby took the lead. Tyler Guy, who was returning to the starting 11 for the first time since September was able to launch a corner towards the back post where Jonathan Jenkinson towered above his man to head home.

The next action came just after the half an hour mark when Ed Heginbotham was adjudged to have brought his man down in the box. The two players were racing towards goal when they tangled and both went down, an incident which led to the referee pointing to the spot. Oliver Naylor stepped up and buried the ball in Jamie Davies’ bottom corner.

Linby’s defence didn’t seem settled during the first half and they nearly gifted Pinxton an easy second when they lost possession on the edge of their box to Thomas Periera, the Pinxton player could only blast his shot over though.

That defensive lapse should have been a wake up call but it didn’t work for the home side. Ed Heginbotham was unable to recover from an earlier knock and so was replaced in injury time by Sean White. The defender had the worst possible start to his game as his attempted diving header back to the keeper wasn’t strong enough leaving Oliver Naylor the chance to go one on one with the Linby keeper. Naylor showed composure as he got close before putting the ball away.

Timmy Adcock nearly made things worse early in the second half as he led a Pinxton break. He was able to drive down the right side before lashing a diagonal shot across goal which narrowly slid past the post.

Just before the hour Ellis Williamson had a good opportunity to get a leveller. The striker was on hand to react when a ball bounced to him on the edge of the box from a corner but he could only shoot wide of goal.

Things got worse for Linby as Pinxton grabbed a third with just 15 minutes to go. Jamie Davies did well to block an initial powerful shot but was unable to stop Oliver Naylor’s quick reactions to drive into the box and put the ball away for his third.

In the aftermath of that goal, Lewis Saxby brought on Tremere Lindo and the pacey young winger created problems for the tiring Pinxton defence. He was able to race down the right wing and past the keeper before a defender put his effort out for a corner.

It was through Tremere’s efforts that Linby were thrown a lifeline. In the last minute of normal time, he was able to burst forward before being brought down on the left side of the box. For the second time of the game, the referee pointed to the spot and Tyler Guy was able to fire past Wayne Smith to set up a tight finish.

Then in the second minute of injury time Linby threw everyone forward including the keeper for a corner in search of an equaliser. The ball was flicked towards the back post where it wasn’t cleared and after bouncing around, it was finally put away by Jonathan Jenkinson for his second of the game.

After the match Linby manager Lewis Saxby said “I told the boys after the match that they showed real character in the way they played till the end.” He went on to say “We made some defensive mistakes but we kept at it and we’ve come out with something.”