Wingate & Finchley 4

East Thurrock 3

EAST Thurrock conceded an injury time goal to lose a seven-goal thriller in a match of some kamikaze defending.

Rocks looked like taking home a share of the spoils when Kurt Smith scored an 88th minute equaliser but his namesake Leon Smith went up the pitch and scored what proved the be the winner.

The game’s first talking point was after 15 minutes when East Thurrock were denied what looked a stonewall penalty as Wingate’s Bobby Aisien hauled down a Rock’s attacker but the referee controversially waved away any claims. To add insult to injury Blues went straight down the other end and scored. Mark Henry pulling ball back for Ahmet Rifat to find the net.

Blues nearly doubled their lead through Kieran Street and Ahmet Rifat but Rocks took a one goal deficit into the break.

It didn’t take long for the visitors to draw level in the second half. A scramble in the box from a corner resulted in Tom Stephen drilling a shot through a crowd of players and into the net.

Four minutes later, Rocks took the lead, as Leon McKenzie nodded in from another corner almost on the line but Ahmet Rifat equalised almost immediately when the defender-turned-striker glanced the ball in to the far corner. The home side took the lead on 87 minutes when substitute Leon Smith fired in from just inside the area.

The end of game scramble ensued when Rifat held off a defender from a Dean Mason cross and played the ball to Leon Smith whose shot crept in off the post.