Enfield Town moved into the Isthmian League Premier Division play-off spots after Joe Payne’s last-minute equaliser secured a 2-2 draw at home to Wingate & Finchley on Saturday.

The visitors held a two-goal lead thanks to strikes from Oluwaseun Akinsanya either side of half-time, but Muhammadu Faal quickly pulled one back before Payne’s volley in the dying seconds secured a point.

It keeps Enfield level on points with fourth-placed Hornchurch and moves them above Cray Wanderers, who were battered 4-0 at Carshalton Athletic.

Town made a quick start to the game and Faal, who had scored inside the opening minute in his side’s previous two games, was looking to do it again, but he spurned the opportunity to make it three in a row by slicing over the bar.

It was then Wingate’s turn to come forward and they came close when Akinsanya curled just wide of the right-hand post after Enfield has conceded possession at the other end.

Another golden opportunity came Enfield’s way when Marc Weatherstone got his head to a corner but was denied by an excellent Shane Gore save.

The deadlock was then finally broken on 36 minutes and it went the way of the visitors as Enfield struggled to clear a free-kick delivered from the left, and Akinsanya displayed excellent control before flicking past Nathan McDonald.

Town needed a positive start to the second period after a lacklustre display in the first half, but things got even worse for them just six minutes after the restart as Akinsanya got to the back post unmarked and tapped home Charley O’Keefe’s low ball.

Only five minutes later though, Faal was on hand to halve the deficit and give Enfield some hope in the game. He got away from his marker and powered his effort right through Gore, scoring his 19th of the season in the process.

It was a lifeline that Town never looked like they were going to take, though. Ken Charles was the first to waste a good chance to level, firing over after twisting away from the defence, and Billy Bricknell also went close but watched his shot roll just the wrong side of the post.

Just when it looked as though Wingate were going to seal a vital three points, though, their resistance was broken in the last of the six additional minutes. A delivery into the box bounced up and following a scramble, Payne was there to power a volley past Gore.

There was even time for one last attack that could have resulted in Town snatching the full haul of points, but the referee blew for full time before it could amount to anything significant.

Town are next in action on Tuesday night when they make the trip to Bognor Regis Town, with kick-off at 7.45pm.