Jamie Tinnock hit an injury time equaliser for Deveronvale against Haddington to keep the Banff club in with a chance of Scottish Cup progress.
Innes McKay conceded a needless third-minute spot-kick, which Shaun Hill converted to give the visitors the lead at Princess Royal Park, and the East of Scotland League side then missed a number of opportunities to increase their advantage.
Both teams hit the woodwork before Dane Ballard pulled an improved Vale level after 61 minutes with a close-range finish, but another mistake, this time by James Connelly, saw Gabriele Auriemma loop a 10-yard header over the helpless Sean McIntosh with 17 minutes remaining.
With an upset on the cards, Vale kept pushing and, with time running out, substitute Tinnock scored with virtually the last kick of the ball. The 2-2 draw means the Highland League side will now travel to Millfield for a replay this weekend.
Vale manager Craig Stewart hailed his players for sticking together to keep their cup adventure alive, and said “We were poor in the first half and that could be down to Scottish Cup nerves as maybe we thought we could just turn up on the day and perform, but that doesn’t happen as was proved and to be honest we were delighted just to be one down at half-time.
“Second half we were much improved and raised the tempo of the game moving the ball far quicker and were camped in their half of the field.
“We showed character to fight back from losing another poor goal to deservingly take a place in the next round draw, but their is still a lot of work to do if we are to overcome Haddington.”
