Histon scored another late goal to rescue a valuable late 1-1 draw in the derby match with Cambridge United at The Glassworld Stadium.
With the teams second and third in the table, separated by four miles and two points, the rivalry and the pressure could hardly have been much stronger.
Histon had the most to play for, with two games in hand on leaders Burton Albion and a 13-point gap to make up, and manager Steve Fallon, a former Cambridge United player, told Setanta ahead of the game that he was relishing the occasion.
He said: “There’s a big crowd out there and we’re looking forward to it. It’s the sort of game we strive to play in.
“There are a lot of good teams just behind us waiting for us to slip up – it’s dog-eat-dog now.
“We think we can catch Burton – it is possible – but there’s a long, long way to go.”
The U’s had every reason to be confident, though, after six games unbeaten and four successive away wins, and boss Gary Brabin felt they deserved to be in the playoff mix after recent form.
“We always believed we had that form within us, and hopefully we can get that going,” he told Setanta.
“They’re a good side, they’re good at what they do and it’s going to be a tough test for us.”
It was Cambridge who shaded a tight and tense opening 20 minutes, and Fallon admitted his players were too anxious.
“We’re looking to relax a little more if we can and try to show a bit more quality,” he said. “We knew it would be like this.”
They had their – and the game’s – first chance shortly afterwards. Jack Midson was allowed a sight on goal after some slack Cambridge defending, but he failed to hit the target.
Cambridge tried to force an advantage with a series of long-range efforts, but Brabin felt the constant interruptions from the referee and his side’s inability to develop their passing game was becoming an issue.
“It’s been very stop-start,” he said. “The game hasn’t really got flowing just yet.
“There’s not a lot of time on the ball, but we’re doing okay. I’ve got a few things that I’d like to say to the referee, but we’ve just got to try to play football.”
It reached half-time without goals, but U’s defender Phil Bolland came as close as either side had come to opening the scoring shortly after the break as his header was tipped over the bar by Danny Naisbitt.
Debutant Lee Phillips came close on the hour for Cambridge, too, as he burst down the middle and poked the ball goalwards to bring another save from Naisbitt.
Cambridge were edging it even if chances were at a premium, and Fallon admitted he had been less than pleased with his side’s showing at that stage.
“I think we’ve still got a little bit to give,” he said. “The game will open up in the last 15 or 20 minutes and we’ll be ready for that when it does.”
The visitors continued to dominate, though, and Scott Rendell forced Naisbitt to push the ball to the side of his goal in the 70th minute before Robbie Willmott fired a shot across the face of goal on the rebound.
Midson had another chance for the home side shortly afterwards, but he failed to make contact with the ball as it bounced up on the edge of the area.
But Cambridge finally got their reward in the 75th minute when Wayne Hatswell caught Naisbitt off his line following a clearance and lobbed the ball into the goal with a volley from some distance.
Brabin hailed the defender for the finish and chastised him for getting booked in his celebrations, and he added: “I think we deserved the goal because we’ve put a bit of pressure on.
“We know what we’re going to get from Histon now. They’ve scored a lot of late goals and we’ve just got to be switched on.”
He was right to expect pressure: Antonio Murray looked to have scored an instant equaliser when he steered the ball beyond keeper Danny Potter, but his effort struck the post after hitting a divot. Hatswell then gave his team a double-boost as he blocked the rebound on the line.
In the 85th minute, they got their equaliser. Gareth Gwillim put a free-kick into the box and Matthew Langston, in an offside position, sent a looping header over that Potter was only able to parry, and Midson nipped in to turn in as the ball bounced down.
It was Histon’s 12th goal in last the five minutes of games and gave them a valuable point, but Midson admitted after the game that they had been fortunate.
“We get the late goals because our fitness shines through, but I just wish we’d scored earlier because we always seem to go up 15 or 20 percent when the goal goes in,” he said.
“We weren’t good enough really. It was a scrappy game, but we’re happy with a draw.”
Fallon admitted his side had been second best and was glad just to rescue a point.
“I thought they did a very good job on us," he said. "We looked like we were frightened of losing it leading up to the goal, but it opened up at the end.
"In the end, I think we're pleased with a point."
Hatswell, meanwhile, admitted the result felt like a defeat and took little consolation from the quality of his strike.
“I obviously caught it sweetly and it was nice to see it go in, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter because we didn’t win,” he said.
“They just keep going and going and we’re disappointed with two points dropped.”
Brabin was unhappy that his side conceded a late goal, but he was satisfied to claim a draw under difficult circumstances.
“I thought we were the better side,” he said.
“I thought some of the free-kicks the referee was giving affected the game and it hurt us more than them.
“I’m disappointed, obviously, but full credit to them – they put us under a lot of pressure in the last ten minutes. It’s no disgrace coming here and getting a point.”