Ibrahim Meite’s penalty ensured that Wingate & Finchley came away with a point against Carshalton Athletic, after coming from behind to draw a gam which saw Wingate & Finchley manager yellow carded in the 59th minute and Carshalton’s Adayinka Adeniyi sent off after the final whistle

Meite won and successfully converted from 12 yards with a confident strike into the bottom right corner in the 74th minute, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way, after Carshalton striker Lewis White opened the scoring in the fifth minute.

Wingate & Finchley failed to clear their lines after a cross and Carshalton Athletic forward White was left unmarked at the back post to control the ball and finish low to Ben Goode’s left in the fifth minute.

Carshalton were unable to capitalise on their early lead as a succession of fouls prevented either team from building any momentum, and the scores were still 0-1 after the referee brought an otherwise uneventful first half to a close.

The second half was a completely different story, though, with Wingate & Finchley dominating proceedings and creating several chances early on.

Meite came close to an equaliser in the 47th minute after being slipped through by Bilal Sayoud, but Carshalton goalkeeper Lloyd Thomas came off his line well to close the angle and deflect Meite’s strike behind for a corner.

It was not all plain sailing for the Blues though, as goalkeeper Goode was called on to make two important saves, the second of which saw him deflect a brilliant strike from Carshalton’s Harry Ottaway with his left leg from close range to make sure that his side remained in the game.

Wingate & Finchley missed a golden opportunity to equalise in the 64th minute after Meite was presented with an open goal when a spectacular drive from Sayoud left the bar shaking, but the Blues forward’s volley flew agonisingly over from two yards out.

Meite’s late penalty spared the Blues their blushes and 1-1 was ultimately a fair result that has seen both teams move up the table; Carshalton are now in 10th spot, and Wingate & Finchley in 11th with the sides only separated by goal difference in the Isthmian Premier League.