Forest Green 2 Ebbsfleet 2

Ebbsfleet United conceded a late equaliser as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Forest Green Rovers in the Blue Square Premier on Tuesday evening.

Leading scorer Stacy Long got his 15th goal of the season to put Fleet 2-1 ahead in the second half and this looked like being enough to give the visitors all three points, before Jonathan Smith struck a late goal for the home side.

Both teams struggled to get going with Fleet registering their first shot on target after 10 minutes when John Akinde dispossessed Darren Jones, before seeing his effort saved by Terry Burton.

Rovers’ Lee Dodgson fired just over the bar on 21 minutes before Chris McPhee went close with a long-range effort for the visitors.

The game’s opening goal came on 36 minutes when Forest Green were awarded a free-kick for a foul on Dodgson by James Smith. Alex Lawless stepped up and curled the free-kick round the wall and into the bottom corner.

Fleet pulled level just six minutes later when Luke Moore raced onto a long ball forward before cutting in from the left and firing the ball into the opposite corner.

In the second half, Rovers came close to restoring their lead when Ishmael Welsh saw his shot tipped over the bar by Lance Cronin.

The home side continued to push forward with Stuart Fleetwood setting up Smith, who blazed over from a good position.

Rovers were made to pay for their missed chances when Long fired the ball into the top corner from 25 yards on 69 minutes.

Mark Preece then headed over from a Jones cross before Smith fired home the equaliser in the 90th minute to give Rovers a share of the points.