By Jack Miller

Epsom Hockey Club bounced back from defeat last weekend with a hard-fought point against fellow promotion chasers Wanderers at Therfield School.

Despite being 1-0 and 3-1 down, Epsom battled back to ensure a share of the spoils from a 3-3 draw.

Epsom had the better of the early exchanges but it was Wanderers who opened the scoring with a superb individual goal.

The hosts rallied and Oli Hildrey converted a short-corner with a well executed flick, before rattling the post with another to give Epsom some momentum going into the break.

Epsom continued to create opportunities at the beginning of the second half, retaining the ball well for extended periods and spurning a few short-corner chances.

They were unlucky to go behind, conceding from a hopeful Wanderers ball into the Epsom D, which was expertly deflected on the reverse into the top corner by the forward.

Wanderers had opportunities to put the game to bed at 2-1, with a one-on-one saved and another fluffed by a frustrated forward who then saw yellow for a terrible challenge while following-up the ball.

They did soon stretch their lead with a flick of their own into the bottom left corner.

The goal was not without controversy, after the umpire had mysteriously awarded the penalty-corner from 50 yards away, leaving Epsom dumbfounded and facing an uphill struggle to get anything from the game with only 10 minutes left.

Forward they pressed, and strong resolve from the side was rewarded first with a penalty-stroke, converted by the ever-reliable Paul Atkinson, before skipper James Midmer rescued a point for the home side, winning a short-corner and then scoring on the rebound in the dying moments.

He said: “A draw was probably a fair result.

“We’ve yet to really find top gear in this league and we’re looking forward to getting a few regular players back in action.”

Epsom travel to league leaders Trojans this weekend, looking to close the gap at the top of the table to two points.