Football: North Force in fight for draw

North Force's Scott Burgess. Photo/ Sharon Teh-Hall

A wake-up call has sent a shiver through the North Force camp after they came back in the second half of their round 15 match against Papatoetoe AFC to grind out a tight, 2-all, draw at Murdoch Park, Auckland.

Two goals down at halftime, a result of two successful attempts by Papatoetoe's Iwa Shaker, forced North Force to be on the chase for the remainder of the match.

"A lot went wrong first half, [a] very poor first half. We're disappointed and we think it's two points dropped," North Force coach Russell Baddeley said.

Some superb keeping from Leon Jarman-Taylor let North Force off the hook many times and kept their hopes alive in the tough encounter.

A change in formation then allowed North Force to go on the attack and a header by captain Mark Ruddell from a corner kick saw North Force get on the board, 1-2.

A penalty kick to Scott Burgess then gave the northern side a chance to level the game, which he sent into the back of the net to bring the score to 2-2.

North Force were back playing near their best in the last 10 minutes but it was too little too late.

"There are no easy games in this league," Baddeley said.

Results:

North Force 2 Papatoetoe 2

North Force Reserves 0 Papatoetoe Reserves 0