Late equaliser denies Town

Both sides made a cautious start but it was Stratford who had the first chance of the afternoon in the 15th minute when Simeon Tulloch released Edwin Ahenkorah down the right. Cutting inside Stratford’s leading scorer switched the ball onto his left foot but his shot was deflected behind.

At the other end Josh Grant flicked on a free kick but Andy Kemp was smartly off his line to smother the ball at Billy Tucker’s feet.

There was little to excite the crowd as both sides cancelled each other out in midfield, and it was little surprise that half time was reached with the game still goal-less.

Stratford were noticeably sharper after the restart and went ahead on 59 minutes. A neat move down the left ended with substitute Emmitt Delfouneso slipping the ball inside to Jamie Sheldon who drilled into the bottom corner from virtually on the penalty spot.

Bideford immediately made a double change, and it was substitute Sean Downing who made an instant impact with a fierce volley which didn’t miss by much.

But with Marcel Simpson and Liam Francis again in commanding form an equaliser seldom looked likely until Bideford struck with five minutes to go.

Richard Groves shot was deflected into the path of Ben Wood who squared it across the six yard box to provide Downing with a simple finish.