Corinthian Casuals have wished referee John Pike a speedy recovery after the man in black collapsed during their 3-3 Ryman Division One South draw at Hastings United on Tuesday night.

Pike slumped to the ground in the final quarter of match with the scores level at 2-2, halting play as ambulance crews rushed to Hastings' Pilot Field home to treat him.

He was conscious when he was taken to hospital in Kent and Ryman League chairman Nick Robinson, who had been watching from the stands, stepped in as an assistant referee as another took charge for the rest of the game.

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Opening goal: Corinthian Casuals' Niall Wright scored his side's first goal three minutes into the second half at Hastings United

Brandon Johnson had thought he had snatched the winner for Casuals minutes after the match restarted only for United's Simon Johnson to level matters in the 88th minute.

"I sincerely hope that our match referee this even makes a full and speedy recovery," tweeted Casuals club secretary Hanna Newton.

"Best wishes from everyone at Corinthian Casuals."

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Doubled up: Josh Uzun doubled Casuals' advantage in the 54th minute against Hastings United

Ryman Division One South rivals Walton Casual also tweeted their support, adding: "Walton Casuals send their best wishes to John Pike, the referee taken to hospital during Hastings United v Corinthian Casuals this evening."

Casuals had been 2-0 up through Niall Wright and Josh Uzun, but conceded the advantage as a 75th minute Simon Cole penalty levelled the scores moments before Pike's collapse.

Boss James Bracken, who watched his side twice let three points slip from their grasp, insisted there were plenty of positives to take from the game, which would stand his team in good stead for the remainder of the campaign.

“I can’t knock the boys . Again, they’ve put in everything," he said.

"After the stoppage, we’ve done what we’ve always done - we’ve been positive.

"We’ve gone for it, changed the shape, put more up front and tried to win the game away from home against probably the second biggest budget in the league, at a guess."

He added: “It’s just about keeping in the mix – which is hard now – right down to thirteenth place, everyone’s still fighting for it.

"Every week, half of those sides will pick up wins, so we need to make sure we are in that half more often than not. Then come the last 10 games of the season, if we’re three to six points outside the playoffs, we’ll have a right good crack at it. 

"It’s definitely achievable."