Rickmansworth followed the disappointment of last week's three goal defeat by rescuing a point in a 1-1 draw with Broxbourne second XI.

Rickmansworth welcomed the return of Cross to bolster the defence, and were in a determined mood to take something from their Printwize East League Division Three clash, despite missing four forward players.

Rickmansworth found the early going tough against a well-organised and young Broxbourne team, who were on a high after winning their opening fixture 4-0.

The first half was played in midfield, with both teams battling hard. Ricky were kept on their toes by the pace of the Broxbourne forward line, while at the other end, Causer, Kodali and Hudson threatened to give Ricky the lead. Ricky finished the half the better and forced a number of penalty corners, but failed to convert.

After the second half collapse against Berkhamsted, Ricky got of to a solid start in the second half.

However, with 15 minutes gone, Broxbourne took the lead when their centre forward managed a lucky deflection.

Minutes later Ricky may have feared the worse when the Broxbourne centre forward latched on to an early pass. This time Higgs was equal to it, and the resulting rebound was cleared by the defence.

Ricky then pressed for an equaliser, which came 10 minutes from time. Hudson capped an excellent display by robbing the ball from the Broxbourne centre back, rounding the keeping and scoring from an acute angle. This gave Rickmansworth the boost they needed, and they went in search of the winner.

With time running out, Kodali was put in to an excellent scoring position, but was caught in two minds, and failed to get his shot off.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw a fair result that both teams could be reasonably happy with.

October 10, 2001 19:52