Barnstoneworth United had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Orana Spurs on Saturday after a wonder goal in the last 25 minutes prevented the visitors from picking up a famous victory in Dubbo.

It was Barnies’ second consecutive visit to the Orana region, having defeated Macquarie United 4-2 in the previous round. As for Orana Spurs, the seventh-placed side was looking to make amends after a lacklustre performance and 5-0 loss to Dubbo Bulls in the derby, and round eight’s 1-1 draw with Lithgow.

Orana struggled to find rhythm in the contest’s opening stages, exposing them to Barnstoneworth’s dangerous forwards on the counter. The visitors opened the scoring in the eighth minute after Charlie Ross pounced on a defensive mistake and dazzled his way forward to coolly dispatch his shot into the bottom corner of the net. The Barnies’ striker also teased his opponents by running over to the corner flag and emulating a small “Cristiano Ronaldo” goal-scoring celebration.

But from here on, things became interesting with the game opening up and providing end-to-end action for the spectators. Orana’s high-pressing style constantly threatened the visitors’ unsettled backline and the Spurs soon equalised in the 23rd minute when their striker pressured the Barnstoneworth keeper, forcing a costly error, before tapping the ball into an empty net.

The visitors kept pushing forward and regained the lead a couple of minutes before halftime. Rowan Edwards got on the end of a delightful cross and headed his shot past the Orana goalkeeper to put Barnies up 2-1.

A re-energised Orana Spurs came into the second half with more intensity, stepping up their game in the final third. The riskier game plan constantly left the back door open for Barnies to score, but their strikers lacked that clinical edge to close the game. Despite making an error in the first half, Barnies’ goalkeeper Marcus Tieppo produced a fantastic save from a free kick to keep his side’s slender lead.

But after constantly knocking on the door, Orana finally found their equaliser in the 65th minute after one of their playmakers scored off a long-range effort. The fourth goal was a testament to this entertaining spectacle, hopefully enhancing the Western Premier League’s reputation across the Central West.

This draw sees Barnies drop four points behind fourth-placed Dubbo Bulls. But the red-and-whites will have the chance to close that gap when they host the Bulls in Round 11.