TORPOINT came from behind to share the spoils at Homers Heath on Wednesday night against a Buckland side who had to play stoppage time with 10 men after Coby White was shown a second yellow card.

Toby Pullman swept the home side ahead in the 14th minute and it took until the 66th minute for the Cornishmen to equalise through Curtis Damerell.

The visitors will look at the result as two points dropped in their pursuit of leaders Clevedon after they were denied in stoppage time twice by heroic goalkeeping from Andrew Sowden-Bird.

But Torpoint are still eight points behind Clevedon with four games in-hand. The Seasiders had to come from behind on Tuesday night to draw 1-1 at Bradford Town, who are very stubborn at home.

Torpoint joint manager Dean Cardew said: “While a point on the road in the middle of a very challenging run of fixtures isn’t a bad return – especially against another promotion rival – it does feel like two points dropped when looking back over the full 90 minutes.

“Buckland set up to sit off us and hit on the counter, and in the first half we simply weren’t sharp enough in the key areas.

“We played into their hands at times, giving the ball away when we had players committed forward, and they punished us with a quick counter to open the scoring.

“We still got into some really promising areas. but our final product just wasn’t there.

“In the second half, we raised our levels and maintained strong pressure. On another day, we could easily have scored three or four goals, but we only managed one and had to settle for a point.”

He added: “Reflecting on the game, though, we should be proud – proud of the players, and proud of how far the club has come.

“To see a side of Buckland’s stature resorting to time wasting from as early as the first half shows the respect we’ve earned. That’s no criticism of them – they did what they needed to do to get a result – but it’s a real compliment to us and the standards we’ve set.

“We’re now just one win away from securing a play-off place, and our focus is firmly on achieving that.

“If we can cement that spot, it will be a fantastic achievement for this football club at Western League level — but there’s still work to be done, and we’re taking nothing for granted.”

In the opening 10 minutes both sides exchanged possession with half chances as they tried to break each other down, with the visitors going the closest.

Just before the quarter-hour, Buckland took the lead when Jack Baxter broke clear. His effort was going wide before it was touched home by Pullman at the far post.

A minute later at the other end, Damerell ran clear, but his effort from the edge of the area was saved by Sowden-Bird, and moments later Pullman fired an effort just over the bar.

Six minutes after the restart, Torpoint’s Elliott Crawford fired an in-swinging corner and the ball found Sam Hepworth, who headed just over.

With Torpoint having plenty of possession, their patience paid off in the 66th minute. Buckland failed to clear their lines and Damerell got hold of a loose ball, he rifling home from the edge of the penalty area.

Buckland’s White was shown a yellow card in the 81st minute and then a second yellow at the end of normal time and the hosts had to play nine minutes of stoppage time with 10 men.

Four minutes in, Torpoint had a great chance to snatch victory. Tom Payne’s free-kick found Hepworth in the six yard box and his header was brilliantly saved by Sowden-Bird.

BUCKLAND ATHLETIC: Andrew Sowden-Bird, Jeremiah Achina (Coby White, 50), Myles James, Isaac McCue, Scott Pocock, Ben Carter, Tomas Amado (Sam Stayt, 84), Jack Baxter (Roger Williams, 75), Ryan Bush (Josiah McKayle, 75), Toby Pullman, Luke Forward. Sub not used: M. Stokes.

TORPOINT ATHLETIC: Ryan Rickard; Dave Barker, Sam Hepworth, Owen Haslam, Callum O’Brien, Elliott Crawford, James Rowe (Tom Payne, 58), Sam Pearson (Ryan Downing, 58), Curtis Damerell, Joe Rapson (Darren Hicks, 83), Callum Martindale. Sub not used: Freddie Chapman.

Torpoint Athletic man-of-the-match: Owen Haslam.