Matlock needed a 96th minute winner from Ben Sault to secure all three points after a scrappy but entertaining 2-1 win at Hallam on Saturday.
Results elsewhere mean Matlock remain ten points behind leaders Redcar Athletic but this was their fifth win in a row as they continued their perfect start to 2026, albeit not one of the more attractive performances in all weathers at Sandygate on what became a pudding of a pitch thanks to a considerable first-half rain shower.
But three points were all that mattered and that’s ultimately what they got despite a fine effort from the hosts who were made to play most of the second-half with ten men and looked to have taken a point late on.
Playing up the hosts’ famous slope in the first-half, Matlock began well and Conor Washington’s first minute lob dropped just over the crossbar.
Hallam then forced Matlock keeper Dylan Wharton into two fine saves from Brodie Litchfield and Brandon Bradbury, then an even better one from a corner as he denied Danny Burns from point-blank range.
And Matlock made the hosts pay for their missed chances when they took the lead as Declan Eratt-Thompson got down the right and his low cross was turned into his own net by Burns as he attempted to block its path into the six-yard box.
As the conditions then made the pitch very wet, chances dried up, with no more clear cut opportunities before the break.
Hallam were reduced to ten men nine minutes into the second-half when Ollie Russon went in heavily on Calum MacDonald and was sent off, much to the dismay of the Hallam players and supporters, but in truth they rarely looked like they were a man short given their subsequent efforts.
Matlock should perhaps have wrapped things up; Washington was denied by a save low down having broken through just after the hour and Jake Thompson also went one-on-one with Hugo Warhurst but the Hallam keeper again came out on top.
In between those chances, Wharton again excelled to deny Danny South, then Eratt-Thompson was just wide from distance for Matlock.
Wharton had been superb throughout but having mishandled a couple of high balls in the testing conditions, doing so again as the game entered stoppage time caused a scramble that ended up with Calum Ward being fouled, the Hallam substitute picking himself up to hammer home the spot-kick.
But Matlock weren’t done. With barely seconds remaining, a corner resulted in another scramble and eventually Sault was able to force the ball home from a couple of yards out to delight the hoards of Matlock fans in attendance.
Matlock: Wharton, Eratt-Thompson, Wiley, Ravenhill, Mbayo, Granite, Thompson (Milambo 87), Sault, Washington (Bachirou 81), Viggars, MacDonald.
Not used: K Clayton, Wilson, Oglesby
Att: 899
Author: Mark Duffy
