WITHAM Town conceded a 94th-minute goal to lose 2-1 at home to Histon, writes JIM PURTILL.

Charlie Lewis's late goal sealed a dramatic victory for the visitors at the Simarco Stadium, in a match which the home side had dominated for long periods.

It was a cruel twist of fate for Witham at the end of their best performance of the Pitching In Isthmian League division north season.

Witham fell behind on the fifth minute when Ed Rolph struck after the home defence had failed to deal with a long throw-in from the left.

Witham rallied well and launched a number of attacks on the left.

Usman Adeniji on his return to the Simarco was causing problems for the Histon rearguard with excellent support from Liam Whipps.

Greg Akpele saw plenty of the ball as Witham shaded the first half.

Witham strongly claimed a penalty for handball after goalkeeper Sam Roach struggled to deal with a high cross from the right.

The loose ball was kicked off the line and was possibly handled by Lee Smith in the ensuing melee.

Play continued and Rhys Madden was called into his only significant action of the first half when he saved smartly from a stinging shot by Simon Swinton.

Before the match, manager Mark Benterman has intimated that the mood in the Witham camp was positive despite their indifferent form and this was evident from their spirited display.

The second half began with Witham on the front foot again.

The home side grasped control of the match and continually pushed forward in a fluid and composed manner.

Ollie Bell grew in influence in midfield and Akpele led the line well with his energy and strength.

This was Witham’s best spell of attacking football of the season.

After two crosses from Dan McCullock just failed to find their targets in the penalty area, Witham drew level in the 57th minute.

Roach spilled a high ball when under pressure from Abs Salami and Akpele forced the ball home from close range.

Minutes later Akpele shot disappointingly tamely at Roach when a very good chance presented itself.

For a 15-minute spell Witham looked the side most likely to core again but Histon began to gain more control as the final whistle beckoned.

The sustained attacking pressure from the home side began to wane as Histon exercised more control.

Danny Gould was involved in all of Histon’s good work and Madden made two excellent saves from him.

In the final attack of the contest, another long throw for Histon sailed into the area.

Lewis found space and reacted quickly to head past Madden and into the net.

The match ended seconds after the restart.

In the words of Roy Hodgson, we should not expect football to be fair. Witham will play worse than this and win this season.

One point was the least that the home side had deserved but Histon took their chances and won thanks to a very early goal and a very late one.

The focus for Marc Benterman and his squad now switches to the away fixture against Romford on Wednesday and the home match against Great Wakering Rovers, on Saturday.