Rothbury 1 Forest Hall 1
Northern Alliance Division One
Reds striker Gareth McCann had an instant impact as he came off the bench and netted with his first touch.
It was the second time in four days that the dangerous hit-man had grabbed an equaliser in the final ten minutes after heading in at Prudhoe in mid-week.
Armstrong Park breathed a huge sigh of relief when his shot crashed in as the promoted Coquetdalers laboured to their second draw in their opening two games at the higher level.
The game provided a huge talking point after just five minutes. Rothbury's Joel Laviers threw the ball down in frustration when a throw-in was given the other way and it led to him being sin-binned for 10 minutes for dissent as the new rules were enforced.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Rothbury could, and maybe should, have led when Chris Coe, who was the Reds biggest threat throughout, fizzed over a low centre and unlucky Greg Woodburn scooped his shot over the bar from a great position with his weaker left foot.
Manager Dan Herron said he could understand why the FA had brought the rule in, and that his players need to be aware of the implications.
"It's really difficult to be honest," shrugged Herron. "I can see why they’re doing it but it can be inconsistent. Same happened at Prudhoe, both teams had a sin bin but they could have easily had 2 or 3 for language, and Forest Hall could easily have had one yesterday too. It’s frustrating to have one in every game so far, and the lads need to learn quickly from it."
Laviers returned to the action soon after but Rothbury appeared unsettled and were frustrated by a string of mis-placed passes, disjointed play, and by conceding a number of free kicks in dangerous positions with lunging challenges.
There was some improvement after the break and when Kyle Smith and James Jackson combined on the edge of the box, Smith's spinning shot was saved just under the bar by the stretching keeper.
The Forest Hall number one was in action again soon after, beating away Jackson's header at the near post. He then had his fingers stung by Tony Brown's 20-yard drive as Rothbury enjoyed their best spell.
However, in the 66th minute, the Reds didn't fully clear a corner and after a couple of blocks on the edge of the box a player was needlessly sent tumbling for a soft, soft penalty.
The referee didn't hesitate in pointing to the spot and Innocent Charinda easily tucked it away for the young and energetic visitors. Disappointingly for Rothbury it was the third spot kick they have conceded - and been punished from- in their opening two games at the First Division level.
Coe continued to cause problems and he had a low shot saved before he then crossed for Chris Fawcett to head over.
McCann was sent into action and had only been on the pitch for a couple of minutes when fellow sub Alex Makin won a free kick as a defender's boot almost kicked him in the face. Brown lined it up from 25 yards, fired it around the wall, and when the diving keeper parried, McCann pounced to tuck away the loose ball from close range.
Reds keeper Thomas Slack produced an important save in stoppage time to preserve the point as he turned a fiercely hit 20-yard drive over at the other end.
"I thought we played some good stuff at times," said Herron afterwards. "In the first half especially, we should have taken our chances at the right time and it might have been different. Forest Hall worked tirelessly all game though in fairness, they made it difficult for us at times."
"Obviously we’ve conceded 3 penalties so far, which is frustrating, but the positive is we haven’t conceded from open play so far. That’s something we’ve found quite encouraging."
After the roller-coaster of a championship season last term, Rothbury's unbeaten start is certainly encouraging and Herron feels his side are just getting going.
"I think we’re probably a little off the pace at the minute to be honest, and having the Esh Winning and Seaton Burn games called off for weather hasn’t done us any favours. But I expect that to pick up throughout August," he admitted.
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