It was a game of two halves at Blackwell Meadows, as the Bucks came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Darlington.

After an even start, the Bucks went close on 16 minutes, when debutant Alex Fletcher fired a shot narrowly wide of Peter Jameson’s left-hand post. Moment later, though, the hosts took the lead. Orrin Pendley conceded possession on the right, and after Will McGowan’s low shot across goal was pushed out by Brandon Hall, the ball ended up in the net via a combination of Aidan Rutledge and Jordan Cranston.

The goal saw the Quakers gain some momentum, and Will Hatfield went close as the hosts looked to double their lead. But the Bucks could have been level on 30 minutes, when Cranston’s corner found Oliver Cawthorne, but the big defender guided his header just wide.

In the 34th minute, the Quakers doubled their advantage. The Bucks once again gave up possession all too cheaply, with Cedric Main then finding full back Josh Scott on the overlap, who fired a low, hard shot under Hall to make it 2-0.

The Bucks were wobbling now, and Darlington went close to making it three; Hall doing remarkably well to push a Rutledge header onto the inside of his left post before the ball was scrambled to safety. 2-0 to the Quakers at half time.

Kevin Wilkin’s men made a better start to the second half, but failed to create many chance to really test Jameson in the Darlington goal. With a tw0-goal lead, the hosts didn’t have to take risks, and they were happy to sit back and protect their advantage.

But in the 72nd minute, the pendulum started to swing in the Bucks’ direction. A neat move by the Bucks saw Remi Walker, Ricardo Dinanga and Charlie Williams link down the left, with Williams eventually squaring for Walker who took a touch before hitting a shot high past Jameson from 12 yards out.

Three minutes later, there was controversy when Wilkin’s men had the ball in the net again only. A cross from the left saw Scott Barrow collide with his keeper Jameson, leaving the Darlo defender stricken in the six yard box. But referee Scott Henry was seemingly happy to let play to continue, allowing Rhys Hilton to pick up the ball on the right and work a shooting opportunity. But with Hilton drawing back his foot to strike the ball, Henry blew his whistle to stop play just as Hilton’s effort flew into the net off the inside of the near post. The Bucks were clearly annoyed by the decision, but they kept pushing forward and looked the much more likely side as the half wore on.

And Wilkin’s men were finally rewarded deep into stoppage time. With time running out, Alex Fletcher found Dylan Allen-Hadley on the left edge of the box, and the tricky forward fired the ball low across Jameson and into the back of the net to make it 2-2 in the 96th minute.

A point for the the Bucks then, which seemed unlikely at half time. The Quakers finished the first half well on top, but they failed to press home their advantage in the second period, as the Bucks battled back to claim a hard-earned draw.