Dereham Men's 3, City of Peterborough 3

HOCKEY: Dereham dropped a couple of points in their pursuit of the East League Premier B title to a heart-breaking last-minute equaliser. Their lead at the top was cut to four points.

Dereham immediately pushed Peterborough on to the back foot with fast, free-flowing hockey, creating a number of early chances which found the Peterborough keeper on top form.

As they soaked up the pressure Peterborough grew in confidence and started pressing forward.

There were early signs of danger as the ball was drilled across the D from the right and the deflection was saved at point-blank range.

Peterborough broke the deadlock following a mistake in the Dereham goal from Tom Vaughan, who was caught in two minds only to see the ball buried in the bottom right corner.

The second half began with Dereham searching for an equaliser. Will Edwards continued to cause problems for the Peterborough defence. He found Mark Timm free, who drilled a shot across the D, and Chris Vernon tapped the ball in at the back post.

Dereham then gifted the lead back to Peterborough when a side-line hit inside the 23 metre line was passed straight to the centre forward. Two attackers made their way into the D, and despite Vaughan getting a hand to the initial shot the second forward tapped into an open net.

Dereham pressure brought reward through a well-worked short corner when Mark Hunter lifted the ball over the keeper.

Dereham thought they had the winner when Michael Timm found Ed Turner on the top of the D with his back to goal. Following a magical turn which dumbfounded two Peterborough defenders, Turner found himself one-on-one with the keeper and found a finish to match the turn.

Dereham pushed for more, and with Peterborough looking to get back in to the game it made for a nail-biting final 10 minutes.

With a minute to go Peterborough won a free-hit just outside the D, and through the melee the ball was flicked home to make it honours even.