Thurlow Premier Stowmarket Town 1 Norwich United 1 Stowmarket Town missed out on going joint top of the Premier Division after Norwich United struck deep into added time to rescue a point, writes Alex Moss.

East Anglian Daily Times: Jack Baker went close for Stowmarket Town. Picture: DAVE WALKERJack Baker went close for Stowmarket Town. Picture: DAVE WALKER (Image: Archant)

The Old Gold and Blacks looked on course for a valuable three points at Greens Meadow, as Ace Howell’s strike late in the first half had put Rick Andrews’ men in control.

But four minutes into second half added time, Sam Applegate’s shot crashed off the crossbar and referee Paul Burnham deemed the ball to have crossed the line, leaving Stow to settle for a point and second place outright in the early Premier Division table.

A slow start on Tuesday night had seen Stow fall behind inside the first minute, but it was a much more positive start for the Old Gold and Blacks against United, with Howell having two efforts kept out and Matt Paine threatening an opener from set pieces.

The breakthrough came on 39 minutes, with a neat move starting from a throw in deep in the Norwich half. Jack Baker and Howell interchanged passes in the box and Howell fired into the corner to open his account for the season.

Stow continued to look the livelier of the two sides, with Josh Mayhew playing a through ball to Remi Garrett, whose dangerous low cross somehow evaded every player in the United box and went out of play.

Mayhew saw a low cross from the byline cleared away, before Baker had two shots in quick succession, the first blocked by the visiting defence and the second was tipped away by Luke Pearson in the Norwich goal.

With one minute to go of normal time, Garrett saw a shot which appeared to strike the hand of a Norwich defender in the box, but Stow’s appeals for a penalty were waved away by the referee.

Stow’s missed chances in the second half proved to be crucial, as in the 94th minute Applegate beat Callum Robinson with a shot which struck the crossbar and was awarded as a goal to deny Andrews’ men the chance to go level on points with Histon at the top.