Eton Manor 4 Barkingside 3

Barkingside blew a two-goal lead to come away empty handed from Goffs Lane last night.

Gursel Gulfer’s men were well on top in the first half, before a lengthy delay due to an injury to the match referee.

But Manor turned things around to claim the Essex Senior League points after a seven-goal thriller.

The visitors made a bright start and went close when Michael Ademiluyi burst into the box and fired a shot beyond the reach of team-mate Charlie Portway and the far post.

But Manor went closer still when a shot from outside the box came back off a post, to the relief of keeper Sam Roach.

Connor Mitchell nodded wide for Barkingside, before they took a deserved lead on 32 minutes as George Lutaaya headed in from a corner.

Manor’s Sydney Stojic had produced a superb save to keep out Portway’s header, from an Ademiluyi cross, to concede the corner but was beaten for a second time on 38 minutes when Ademiluyi beat his man on the left and saw his centre helped on and turned in at the far post by Kerkstun MacPherson.

Barkingside threatened to run riot as Stojic pushed two long-range attempts around a post and saw a defender keep out Lutaaya’s goalbound header.

And Lutaaya put a free header over the crossbar before referee Edward Smith went down with a hamstring injury and the match was delayed for a lengthy period of time.

Play eventually resumed after a stand-in linesman was found and Barkingside were back on the attack, with Lutaaya’s free-kick evading everyone at the far post.

A great cross from Paul Wright was agonisingly out of Portway’s reach, before Manor pulled a goal back as Ben Bradbury went through and found the net via the near post.

Stojic deflected a Portway effort onto an upright as Barkingside looked to restore their two-goal cushion, but the home side had penalty appeals waved away by the new referee before the interval.

Manor were back on terms after the restart, though, when a speculative shot was deflected behind and a header from the corner was cleared off the line before the loose ball was put past Roach.

But there was another hold-up in play when Stojic went down after a heavy challenge, before the hosts took the lead when a deep cross was headed in at the far post.

Barkingside squared matters with a header of their own, but their joy was shortlived as a lapse in concentration at the back gifted Manor the chance to go through and make it 4-3.

Manor’s Lewis Hagland curled another attempt just off-target, before Barkingside almost scrambled in a free-kick at the other end.

And both sides had speculative long-range efforts miss the target in the closing stages as the scoreline remained unchanged and Manor celebrated a thrilling victory.

Barkingside: Roach, Mochalski (Glancy 46), Wright, Birch, Amoako, Lutaaya (Ambrose 64), Ademiluyi, Mitchell (Lee 64), With, Portway, MacPherson.

Unused subs: Lucas, Ambrose.