Josh Folkes stoppage time doubles sees Ipswich Wanderers come from behind against 9-man Thetford Town to gain control of title race
There was the most dramatic of finishes on Non-League Day at Humber Doucy Lane this afternoon with Ipswich Wanderers coming up with two goals in stoppage time against the nine men of Thetford Town to snatch victory and top spot.
The Norfolk side had taken a 2-0 lead into the interval via goals from Cameron King and George Diggens to put them on the verge of extending their lead at the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division summit to four points with five games remaining.
But the Wanderers pressure finally paid off in the 66th minute when substitute goalkeeper Macauley Rodgers fumbled in a Kris Rose volley that spun off player-boss Matt Morton's boot.
After the home defence cleared a shot off the line inside the final six minutes it looked like they may be set to hold out for a crucial victory.
But they were hit by two red cards inside the final three minutes of regulation time as captain Elliot Smith and then Nathan Clarke were both shown second yellow cards.
Substitute Josh Folkes then wrote his name into the club's folklore with a glancing header in the 93rd minute followed by converting a knock down in a crowded box in the 97th minute to send his side top of the table.
The ultimate winning goal sparked a mini pitch invasion from what was a club record attendance for a league game, at 501, with the clock reaching 12 minutes of added time before the referee finally blew up.
A 12th straight win for Wanderers sees them end Thetford's long grip on top spot heading into the final handful of matches with the Brecklanders now two points adrift after suffering back-to-back defeats.
James Buckle and Mark Goldfinch made just one enforced change from Tuesday's 2-0 home win against Walsham-le-Willows with Jack Madley coming in for full-back Lewis Kincaid who had limped out with suspected ligament damage.
In reaction to their 3-1 mid-week home defeat to Mildenhall Town, player-boss Matt Morton made three changes to the Brecklanders' line-up. Captain Sam Bond came back in along with fellow defensive-minded players Jordan Lake and Nathan Clarke.
Wanderers signalled their early intent with a shot inside the opening 10 seconds, Joel Glover cutting in from the right but lashing his shot well over from the edge of the area.
Just five minutes later the visitors took the lead from their first threatening moment with Elliot Smith catching the defence square with a throughball for King to bear down on goal before the former professional fired a low shot in off the left-hand post from the edge of the area. Wanderers' players appealed for offside but after consulting his assistant, the goal was awarded.
The first of several heated scenes between the teams occurred in the 11th minute when Rose chopped down King on the half way line as he took on a through ball, with the referee brandishing the first yellow card.
The hosts began to press forward with Anton Clarke having a shot blocked on the edge of the area while a big chance went begging in the 19th minute as Glover did not manage to get more than a toe end on a long ball over the defence with Tom Smith making a comfortable save.
Thetford doubled their advantage mid-way through the half when, following good work down the right, Diggens cut into the area and fired low across Craig Brand's area to find the far corner.
With both goals having come from down their left-hand side, Wanderers reacted by switching over their full-backs.
The rest of the half belonged to the home side as they searched for a foothold back into the game.
Glover unable to trouble Smith with a scissor kick while the former Hadleigh player found the side-netting just after the half-hour mark following a deflected Jamie Eaton-Collins shot.
A few minutes later full-back Paulo Cohelo cut in from the right-hand side and fired a fierce low effort from 25 yards that drew Smith into a near-post save.
Danny Cunningham curled a 30-yard central free kick over the bar and sent another frustrated long-range effort over.
In the 43rd minute Smith was shown the first of his yellow cards for a challenge on Rose in the hosts' left-back area following the referee consulting with his assistant.
Similarly, Clarke received his first yellow on the stroke of half-time for a late challenge in his own half on Teon Leggett.
A couple of minutes into stoppage time there were further heated scenes as goalkeeper Smith received a late challenge coming to claim a free kick that ended with him not coming out for the second half, with the referee eventually booking Glover.
It later emerged he had gone to hospital to have suspected broken ribs looked at.
The division's top scorer, Dan Gilchrist, forced two near-post saves out of Wanderers' Brand early in the second half
But it was then Wanderers who were camped in the Thetford half but the final ball was letting them down.
A doubled substitution on the half-mark for Buckle and Goldfinch's side proved pivotal though with Folkes and Nathan Read soon giving their attack a new dimension.
The breakthrough came in bizarre circumstances though in the 66th minute when Rose's volley spun back off Morton's boot from an attempted clearance and substitute 'keeper Rodgers somehow made a hash of trying to keep it out of his net.
The referee booked Diggens for time-wasting with 20 minutes to go after he cynically blocked off a pass back to his goalkeeper from Rose after the ball had run out of play.
Ipswich's pressure increased as Read fired over after dispossessing Gilchrist 30 yards out before the same player saw a fierce near-post effort deflected behind. From the subsequent corner fellow substitute Folkes won the header but sent it looping well over the bar.
Folkes managed to get a connection amid a crowded box soon after but it lacked the power to trouble Rodgers.
There was a long stoppage from the 81st minute after Thetford skipper Bond went down in his penalty area clutching his hamstring before he was eventually replaced.
Wanderers captain Mark Roper went close to the equaliser in the 84th minute but was denied by a goalline clearance by Bond's replacement Connor Balment after Rodgers had pushed out a Cunningham free kick.
There was further drama to follow though as in the 87th minute Thetford received the first of two red cards in three crazy minutes, Smith the first to walk following a challenge in the right-back area where he claimed to have won the ball.
Read had a shot blocked on the edge of the area before the visitors were soon reduced to nine men heading into stoppage time when Nathan Clarke could not believe his challenge just outside the area warranted a second yellow card.
When play was eventually able to be restarted following the protestations, and the long wait for Clarke to completely leave the field, Rodges made a fine save down to his left to turn Read's free kick round his post.
But within a minute he was picking the equaliser out of his net as Folkes steered a header past him from a deep cross from Read.
Thetford were trying to hang on for the point but the ball kept coming back into their box and they survived a passage of the ball pin-balling back and forth in the 95th minute before Rodgers saved a cross-cum-shot from Read.
However, their resistance was eventually broken in the 97th minute when Anton Clarke got his head on the ball in the box and Folkes reacted quickest to turn it in from close-range, sparking wild celebrations with some supporters entering the pitch.
The referee eventually got the game restarted again but Thetford's nine men were unable to create anything to try and grab something from the game in the few minutes that followed.
The final whistle brought more fans onto the pitch and jubilant embraces from the home players and their management team while for Thetford it was a case of trying to swallow the bitter pill of the late defeat that could deprive them of promotion.
However, with five matches for both yet to play there could well be more dramatic twists and turns to come yet.
Ipswich Wanderers: Brand, Cohelo, Madley (Folkes 60'), Glover, Roper (c), Rose, A Clarke, Cunningham, Eaton-Collins (Read 60'), Maycock, Leggett. Unused substitutes: Dyer, Paine, Jennings.
Booked: Rose (11'), Cohelo (28'), Glover (45+2'), Cunningham (45+5').
Thetford Town: Smith (Rodgers 46'), Morton, Bond (c) (Balment 82'), Lake, N Clarke, Mann, Laker, Smith, Diggins, Gilchrist, King (Godbold 76'). Unused substitutes: Cusack, Fuller.
Booked: Smith (43', 87'), N Clarke (45'), Diggens (70'), Bond (81').
Attendance: 501
SuffolkNews Man of the Match: Josh Folkes. Both Wanderers substitutes made a big impact but you can't overlook the important of the man who twice found the back of the net to turn a crucial top-of-the-table clash in their favour.
