Eton Manor played out an entertaining 19-19 draw against Amersham in London 1 North, keeping up their unwanted record of never winning a league game at that venue.

Tries from Elliot Brown, Tom O’Connor and Ollie Waugh, two of which were converted by Cameron Dutch, almost won the game for the visitors, but a late Amersham try ensured a share of the points.

Having been forced into a number of changes from the previous week’s win over Harpenden, Manor started slowly and allowed Amersham the bulk of the possession and territory.

The game’s first scrum fell close to the halfway line and Manor held off Amersham’s drive which allowed them to break quickly with Nick Horton and Dutch. He played it right to Brown who beat his man for pace and, despite being tackled to the ground, he stretched out to place the ball on the line. Dutch’s conversion was on target but felt short due to the wind, giving Manor a 5-0 lead.

The visitors kept up their constant waves of pressure in the first half but it went again them after 35 minutes when a wayward pass was intercepted by the Amersham back, and he ran in from halfway to score a seven-point try and put the hosts ahead.

Manor’s usually solid defence was being tested by the home side, and it was only a saving tackle from Dutch that prevented Amersham’s number eight from adding to their score before the break.

Instead, they did it after the interval as Amersham broke through again and, although they were stopped a few metres short of the line, they went through the phases and powered over another seven-point try to lead 14-5.

Manor came back almost instantly in reply and closed the gap on their opponents with their own seven-point score. A flowing move started by Billy Cosma saw Dutch try to bash through Amersham, but he laid off for Brown once he was stopped who in turn fed the supporting O’Connor to drive over from 15 metres.

The visitors were now enjoying some good spells of possession and were getting forward at every possible opportunity. It wasn’t long before their lead was restored as they drove a scrum forwards from eight metres to the try line where Waugh claimed the score. Dutch’s conversion extended the lead to 19-14.

However, with time ticking away, Amersham began to look the more likely of the two sides to get anything out of the game. Only good defending from Brown prevented a match-drawing try initially, but their efforts were finally rewarded late on as they drove over to level it at 19-19.

Luckily for Manor, a fairly routine conversion was missed, meaning both sides had to settle for a share of the points, although the visitors could take solace in the fact that it was the first time they had not lost away at Amersham.

Manor’s record of two wins and one draw in London 1 North so far this season will be given a big test this Saturday when they play host to second-placed Southend Saxons, who have started the campaign with three wins from three, beating Old Haberdashers, Brentwood and Old Priorians.