Hold on tight football fans ? you could be in for a helluva ride in the final few rounds of Premier Division soccer,

See your cardiologist, make sure your heart is ticking fine because, if yesterday?s cracker of a match between Dandy Town and PHC is indicative of the high drama and intrigue in the top flight?s remaining games, you might need a paramedic and oxygen mask by the time the championship is decided.

In a fixture worthy of the league?s two top clubs, Dandy Town fought back from 2-1 down in the dying minutes ? after snatching an early 1-0 lead ? to earn a tension-filled 2-2 draw against the visitors to St. John?s Road.

Played in an electrifying and emotional atmosphere, the match delivered in almost every aspect, thrilling the large and vocal crowd with a non-stop rollercoaster ride that took off from the fourth minute when an Otis Steede bullet hit the mark from the left edge of the area.

The right-footed strike, which evolved from a smart corner, flew diagonally across the goal and nestled inside the right post.

If ? by the remotest chance ? the Zebras had been sleeping, that startling welcome certainly woke them up and set the tone for a very entertaining clash.

Trying to capitalise on seizing the early impetus, Town went on the offensive with a series of lobs from deep midfield that pitted PHC defenders Tokia Russell and Corey Dowling against six-foot striker Khano Smith.

At the other end, the Zebras were gaining increasing composure and though their initiatives were breaking down in the final third, one sensed they would not remain scoreless. However, the origin and circumstances of their first goal in the 27th minute were surprising in the extreme.

Reminiscent of Rodre (Piper) Wilson?s thunderbolt on the same ground two Sundays ago, Dowling picked up an ordinary pass from about 25 yards and unleashed a left-foot scud which cannoned into the upper, left corner of Town?s net.

What a reply ? Cymande Davis would have broken an arm trying to save that!

Now on even terms 1-1, PHC pressed on with Jahnai Raynor and Cecoy Robinson testing Davis while a Smith header grazed the crossbar for the Hornets.

Both teams continued the brisk, goal-bound onslaught upon the half-time resumption but there was an uneasy sense among home supporters that PHC were benefiting from greater and more purposeful possession.

By contrast, Town?s game began to resemble Chinua Achebe?s novel ?Things Fall Apart? with the titleholders looking out of it with ragged passing, half-hearted tackles and a total midfield breakdown. Suspended playmaker Carlos Smith ? obviously woefully missed ? watched helplessly from the sidelines as his team-mates repeatedly buckled under pressure.

In the 66th minute, Zebras were rewarded for their enterprise as Robinson ? who might have wondered if he had bad body odour with the amount of room marker Ernest Signor kept giving him ? sent in a solid cross from deep on the right flank.

Antwon Russell, on the back post, rose to head the ball into the path of team-mate Kevin Lambe who propelled his club to a 2-1 lead with a full-blooded headed.

Thereafter it was all-out attack by PHC as they sought a third goal but, apart from an offside header which scored, they could not breach Hornets? fragile defence again.

Still, it looked as though they would return to their Warwick-base high-fiving and grinning as every Town opportunity finished in disappointment; the best being a diagonal, close-range strike by substitute Lashun Dill.

However, as so often happens, out of nothing came something.

As referee Anthony Mouchette signalled three minutes of injury time, defender David Lawler ? who ran his soul out for the team ? pushed forward in attack. During one of those forays, he found himself surrounded by ball-hounding Zebras inside the six-yard box, in clever desperation he back-heeled the ball which found striker Khano Smith.

In a quick, smooth move, the lanky marksman ? who had been far from his accustomed excellence ? restored his eminent standing among the Hornets faithful, smacking a left-foot drive that gave Jay Smith no chance from close range.

Pandemonium erupted as Town supporters rushed onto the pitch and flung themselves on Smith, Lawler and company to celebrate the 2-2 comeback.

The frenetic final minutes saw David Hunt nearly burst the hosts? bubble once more as the PHC substitute made use of acres of space down the right wing before misfiring past the right post.

?To get a point in the last five minutes when it didn?t look like we were going to come away with anything, I?m pleased,? said Hornets coach Devarr Boyles.

?We made it difficult for ourselves. A bunch of players didn?t show up in the game. They just weren?t themselves today. It was a poor team performance.?

The soft-spoken tactician noted that mathematically three teams ?are in it and we see it going down to the last game?.

Town head the standings with 23 points, holding a thin one-point advantage over Devonshire Cougars while PHC are two points adrift on 20.

Mark Wade was understandably ?a little disappointed?, admitting the Zebras? intention was to leave triumphant.?We should have had a victory but a lack of concentration in the defensive third cost us. Now we can only hope that other teams take points from Dandy Town,? said the PHC coach.

Despite the outcome, he praised his players for exhibiting ?a lot of character? and maintaining ?a high intensity? throughout.C.Davis, K.Mundy, D.Lawler, M.Lowe, E.Signor (S.Tuzo, 67 mins), O.Steede, D.Zuill, L.Furbert, J.Peniston (L.Dill, 55 mins), K.Smith, L.Holder (C.Anderson, 55 mins).J.Smith, J.Sealy, A.Furbert (D.Hunt, 18 mins), T.Russell, C.Dowling, C.Robinson, K.Lambe, O.Shakir, J.Raynor, A.Russell, R.Lightbourne (K.Mills, 62 mins). E.Signor (Dandy Town); T.Russell, K.Mills (PHC). D.Lawler (Dandy Town); T.Russell (PHC). A.Mouchette.