Mettam in a fury as winless Steelmen throw away 3-1 lead to draw at Loughborough Students
An exasperated Leon Mettam could not hide his anger and frustration after watching his Corby Town team throw away a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 at Loughborough Students on Saturday.
The Steelmen looked to be heading for a first win of the Pitching-In Northern Premier League Midlands Division season as they led by two goals going into the final minute of normal time in Leicestershire.
But Kash Kasukumya pulled one back for the students, and with the panic button well and truly pressed in the visiting ranks, the same player netted again five minutes into time added on to secure the unlikeliest of points for the home side.
Earlier, Jordon Crawford had given Corby a 26th-minute lead, and although Loughborough levelled through Sonny Albert just before the break, the Steelmen took control thanks to goals from Ollie Downs and Callum Milne midway through the second half.
They were then minutes away from that first win, only to implode late on, and Mettam was not a happy man.
"What can you say? 3-1 up, into injury-time, cruising, and you can the players all the tactics you want," the Steelmen boss told @chuckmiddleton.
"But if you're not big enough and man enough to defend a 3-1 lead with four minutes to go, and game manage, there's nothing I can do about that.
"That's on the players and they've been told.
"You can bring in all the experience in the world, and we have done it, we have played the game to a tee.
"We knew we would have to ride the storm, we knew they would have chances.
"Loughborough are a full-time outfit, they know how to work the ball, how to manipulate it, pull people in and out of pockets.
"We got 3-1 up, and then fall apart like that...
"It will fall on my shoulders, of course it will, but anybody was at the game will see there was nothing I could do about that.
"It is just called not having the courage to go and see out a game and it is so disappointing.
"I have said to the players, if they don't want me to be here then just tell me they don't want me to be here.
"If they are going to do that to me, and kick me where it hurts like that, when we are 3-1 up and chasing our first win of the season."
The draw leaves Corby sitting second bottom in the Midlands Division table ahead of Wednesday night's home game against seventh-placed Bedworth United (ko 7.45pm).