JAMES Lemon scored a second-half hat-trick in vain as Droitwich Spa played out a crazy 5-5 draw with Worcester City in a 10-goal pre-season thriller at Claines Lane.
Despite Worcester only leading by a single goal at the break, the floodgates opened in the second period as nine goals were scored in a frantic encounter.
The home side were ahead on seven minutes when Dylan Hart won and converted a penalty after he went down in the area under a challenge by Spa goalkeeper Dom Rogerson.
And Worcester doubled their lead early in the second half when substitute Elliott Hartley found the net just seconds after the restart.
However, Droitwich hit back on 51 minutes when Connor Collins drew a foul in the box and picked himself up to score the resulting penalty just moments after Roland Krol saw a shot cleared off the line.
And Spa equalised on 57 minutes when Lemon beat the offside trap and finished well to level the scores.
The comeback was complete just five minutes later as Charlie Tilley’s bullet header from a free-kick left Worcester stunned.
However, Worcester drew level on 72 minutes when Danny Flowers leapt to head home Liam Lockett’s free-kick.
And just two minutes later, Worcester were ahead as Lockett worked his way into the box before firing a low effort into the bottom corner.
A remarkable second half saw Spa equalise for a second time with 10 minutes left to play as Lemon pounced on a loose ball to level the game.
And Lemon looked to have won the game for Spa on 87 minutes with a close range header to complete his hat-trick against his former club.
There was still time for one final twist, as Hartley scored a stunning goal from outside the penalty area to ensure the game finished all square.
