Herne Bay completed a spirited comeback at the Dripping Pan as second half goals from Troy Williams and Mason Saunders-Henry secured a 3-3 draw against Lewes.

Marcel Barrington gave Kevin Watson’s side the lead in the first quarter, firing the ball low beyond Lewis Carey.

Quickfire goals from Joe Taylor and Ayo Olukoga saw Lewes enter the break a goal to the good, before Will Salmon added a third not long after the restart.

Williams’ 75th minute cross caught Carey by surprise to give the Bay a fighting chance, with the ball looping into the top corner.

And Saunders-Henry added an emphatic third with ten minutes to play to keep the Bay’s hopes of avoiding the drop alive and kicking.

At a packed out Dripping Pan, with just over one thousand fans in attendance, it was the hosts who got off to a better start. They could have easily had the lead within the opening 30 seconds, only for Razz Coleman De-Graft to strike the crossbar with his thunderous shot.

Two minutes later and the Rooks thought they had forced their way in front when Taylor turned the ball home from close range, only to see the linesman raise his flag as he wheeled away to celebrate.

It was all Lewes in the opening ten minutes as the Bay struggled to get a foothold in the game, with Ryan Gondoh the next man to try his luck, only to fire high and wide of Jordan Perrin’s goal.

However, it doesn’t matter how many chances you have, it is all about taking them and with the Bay’s first real effort on target in the 14th minute, they had the lead. A long ball forward from Jack Parter found Barrington charging at goal and after moving the ball onto his left foot, he fired into the bottom corner.

The men in yellow had their tails up and only two minutes later, they came within a whisker of a second, but Barrington’s shot from the edge of the box just about cleared the crossbar.

Having wobbled following that goal, Lewes began to settle into things and were back to piling on the pressure. Only great defending from Dan Johnson in the 20th minute prevented Lewes the space they needed to get into the penalty area.

Seven minutes later, it was Saunders-Henry’s turn at showcasing his defensive capabilities, shouldering his man off the ball to kill any chance of the Lewes player putting the ball into a dangerous position.

As the first half progressed, the Rooks were getting closer and closer to pegging Watson’s men back, as Coleman De-Graft’s shot dribbled inches wide of the bottom corner after 37 minutes.

The warning signs were there and only two minutes later, it wasn’t a surprise to see the hosts hit the back of the net through Taylor, whose shot clipped the underside of the crossbar before nestling into the back of the net.

In the blink of an eye, the hosts caught the Bay napping and scored their second to take the lead. Moments after a fine save from Perrin, Olukoga received the ball in space before rifling his angled shot into the bottom corner.

A fast start to the second half was required by the Bay to arrest the hosts’ momentum. However, in the 55th minute, things went from bad to worse when Lewes scored a third, this time through Will Salmon, whose close-range header at the back post proved unstoppable.

It was the yellows who were wobbling now and the Rooks could smell blood as they looked to put the game to bed. Skipping over a few challenges, Gondoh had enough time and space to take aim from just outside the area but was left frustrated as his goalbound shot took a slight deflection to take the ball off target.

It really wasn’t quite clicking for Watson’s men in the second half and but for several fine saves from Perrin, things could have gotten ugly.

However, they showed their character, stuck in there and eventually got their just rewards with 15 minutes left to play. Carrying the ball down the left wing, Williams spotted a teammate racing into the Lewes box at the back post but his cross wasn’t quite right as instead of finding the other yellow shirt, it looped over Carey and into the back of the net, reducing the Lewes lead to one.

Watson looked to capitalise on this momentum, bringing Jack Sammoutis on for Daniel Ogunleye and in the 80th minute, the Bay left the home supporters stunned by bagging a third.

Charging forward into space, Saunders-Henry threaded the ball through to Ozobia, whose shot was saved well by Carey. However, he could only parry the ball back into Saunders-Henry’s path, leaving the winger with a simple finish from the centre of the box.

There was still plenty of time for things to change for either side, but it was Lewes who looked more likely to score. Returning after a spell out of the side, Perrin was a man determined and two spectacular saves in the space of two minutes almost certainly secure the Bay who could prove to be a valuable point.

Final Score: Lewes 3 Herne Bay 3

Lewes Starting XI: Lewis Carey, Jaydn Mundle-Smith, Tom Champion, Ayo Olukoga, Razz Coleman De-Graft, Tyrique Hyde (Bradley Pritchard 69’), Joe Taylor, Ryan Gondoh (Deon Moore 79’), Alfie Young, Jayden Davis, Will Salmon (Ryan Huckle 67’)

Yellow Cards: Bradley Pritchard 78’

Unused Subs: Rhys Murrell-Williamson, Roman Hall

Herne Bay Starting XI: Jordan Perrin, Troy Williams, Jack Parter, Daniel Johnson, Hamilton Antonio, Mason Saunders-Henry, Marcel Barrington ©, Daniel Ogunleye (Jack Sammoutis 76’), Connor Dymond, Finn O’Mara, David Ozobia

Yellow Cards: Hamilton Antonio 38’ Connor Dymond 47’

Unused Subs: Monty Saunders, Devon Mason, Teddy Isaacs, Briggs Ojemen