Injuries and holiday unavailability meant manager Steve Holder had to help out his depleted squad and secured a 2-2 draw at Fakenham.

Holder showed he he could still perform at a decent level with a pass that led to Angus Mills crossing for exciting youngster Liam Pearce to bang in from close range.

Pearce had earlier delivered the corner Tom Warren to head Hadleigh into the lead.

Fakenham twice levelled with goals from skipper Jake Watts and Luke Walpole and had a late goal ruled out for offside.

Sam Mills replaced Holder 10 minutes into the second half, and the drained Brettsiders held on for a hard-earned point.

Holder, and the rest of his squad need to recover quickly with four games in 11 days coming up, starting with Long Melford at Millfield on Tuesday evening.