Turriff United struck late to grab a share of the spoils against Banks o’ Dee at The Haughs in an entertaining 1-1 draw.
With the home side trailing to substitute Jack Henderson’s penalty midway through the second half for Dee, Rory Brown came off the bench to fire home the equaliser for Dean Donaldson’s side as they earned a share of the spoils.
Turriff came out the blocks quickly and they had a great chance to take an early lead, but Aaron Reid’s diving header went just wide.
Dee responded by creating a host of chances in what was an exciting opening.
Kane Winton saw a header blocked before Lachie MacLeod’s shot was deflected over the crossbar.
MacLeod then found Matthew Wallace in space after cutting the back, but Wallace fired over the crossbar from eight yards.
The visitors continued to keep the pressure on the hosts and David Dey made two fine saves to keep Dee, first parrying Alasdair Stark’s low drive before getting back to his feet to block MacLeod’s attempt to convert the rebound.
United, having weathered the early flurry, responded with a Ewan Clark effort which found the side netting before Dee squandered another chance as Winton’s hooked effort from Magnus Watson’s corner went wide.
There was a lengthy stoppage in play after a visiting spectator was struck by a clearance on the sidelines and the break in play seemed to knock Dee out of their rhythm.
When the action eventually resumed, it was the home side who had the best chance before the break after Jordan Cooper sent Clark clear on goal. The striker took the ball around Dee goalkeeper Ross Salmon, but his effort was cleared off the line by a visiting defender.
Dee make the breakthrough in second half
Dee came out determined to restore their control of the game and MacLeod did well to use his strength to hold off the attention of Dylan Stuart in the box before attempting a lob – but his effort landed on the roof of the net.
Clark then broke clear of the Dee backline to run clear on goal, but Salmon blocked his effort before Keir Smith fired the loose ball over the crossbar.
The chances continue to come the visitors’ way and Winton went close to breaking the deadlock midway through the second half when he met Mark Gilmour’s corner, but his volley went just wide.
Dee’s perseverance finally paid off in the 71st minute when they were awarded a penalty.
Winton was the man fouled by Turriff’s Liam Cheyne, and substitute Jack Henderson stepped up to send Dey the wrong way with the resulting spot-kick to give his side the lead.
Dee substitutes Hamish MacLeod and Neil Gauld then combined to create another chance, but Dey did well to block Gauld’s effort. From the resulting corner, Dey did brilliantly to deny Gauld again from close range.
Dey’s excellent shot-stopping proved crucial as Turriff drew level with six minutes remaining.
Substitute Kyle Gordon beat Dee goalkeeper Salmon in the air to a high ball and fellow sub Brown reacted quickest to fire the loose ball into the net to earn his side a point.
