PAULTON Rovers and Evesham Town fought out a 1-1 draw in Southern League Division One South last Saturday, writes Jon Green.

Under the watchful eye of local MP, Sir Jacob Rees Mogg and his sons alongside Harriet Turner from Pitching In, the game got underway. Evesham had most of the possession early on. Chances fell for Levi Steele and Amer Awadh but neither troubled Frankie Phillips.

Rovers were struggling to maintain any sort of hold on the ball as Evesham pressed them into mistakes. It was somewhat against the run of play that Paulton won a penalty in the 21st minute when Ed Butcher was brought down. Butcher stepped up to take the spot kick but Evesham's Ben Taylor made an excellent save. In the 29th minute, the visitors got the opener.

With Rovers again making moves forward, Evesham pressed the hosts into another mistake and hit a long ball forward which left Levi Steele one on one with Frankie Phillips and he made no mistake. Milo Murgatroyd was introduced when an earlier injury to Braeden Symes couldn't be shaken off. It gave Rovers some more momentum going forward but the half time whistle blew with neither keeper being unduly tested.

Rovers were much more on the front foot in the second half with more possession and caused Evesham a number of issues in defence. With the Under 18s in attendance, the atmosphere was building and Rovers got their deserved equaliser in the 65th minute. Evesham failed to clear a long throw-in from Dan Restorick and the ball fell to Ed Butcher who scored with a sweet volley. With their tails up, Rovers continued to press forward looking for a winner. But Evesham still looked dangerous on the break and a chance fell for Frederick Willcox in the 67th minute but his shot was well over. In the 74th minute, William Owens whipped in a perfect cross and with two forwards launching themselves forward, it looked like a certain goal. But somehow, the ball eluded them both. Rovers continued to work hard and had a penalty shout in the 78th minute when there appeared to be a handball in the box. The protests were waived away and Leo Eglin was booked in the aftermath. The same player brought down an Evesham man and received a second yellow card, leaving Rovers with ten men . The resulting free kick was the final action of the game. Man of the Match: Jack Dancey.