PROMOTION chasing Salisbury were held to a draw by a Hartley Wintney side in good from on the road.
The match was barely two minutes old when Nathan Smart went down with an injury.
After a lengthy spell of treatment he was able to be moved to the touchline for the finishing touches to be applied. During the spell that the Row were down to ten men they took the lead.
On six minutes a corner was forced on the right and the Ryan Case delivery found Sam Argent who saw his header find the net via a slight deflection off a Whites defender. Nathan Smart soon resumed.
Five minutes later another Case corner on the right found Harrison Bayley but the midfielder directed his header wide of goal.
Within minutes the Whites had pulled level.
On 12 minutes Hartley lost the ball in midfield and an incisive through ball sent Marvin Brooks through to shoot past Luke Williams in the Row goal and into the corner of the net.
Two minutes later the Row put together a good move down the left. Leo Hamblin got free and his cross found Kingsley Eshun. The strikers header back across goal found Reece Wylie who set up Jordan Edwards who saw his effort saved by Marcus Beauchamp in the Salisbury goal..
Salisbury had a good spell and the Row goal came under considerable pressure. On 17 minutes a corner from Antonio Diaz found the head of former Row favourite Jack Ball who saw his powerful header bring out an excellent point blank save from Williams.
If Williams first save was excellent his second was outstanding. Joshua Sommerton got free down the left on 28 minutes and the incoming header from close range by Sam Ashton saw Williams somehow keep the ball out of the net.
The Row steadied the ship but had to survive a scare in added time. Again Sommerton got free down the left and his cross set up Ashton who saw his goal bound effort deflected wide.
Hartley started the second half well but it was the Whites who took the lead on 54 minutes.
A long cross from the right found Diaz whose header back across goal hit the hand of Ryan Case. Referee Harrison Blair who was well positioned immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Charlie Davis took the kick and scored with a well placed low shot.
The Row responded well and gained a grip on the match.
Substitutes Josh Webb and Jacques Kpohomouh came on and both made an impact. Hartley probed and could have done better with breaks where the incisive pass was not quite achieved. However their efforts were rewarded on 68 minutes. Sam Argent was hauled down around 20 yards from goal.
The resulting free kick from Jordan Edwards beat the wall and sailed past Marcus Beauchamp for the equaliser.
Hartley had their tails up and pressed for the winner. Kpohomouh has a good run down the right and his cross was deflected just wide of the post by the inrushing Khalid Simmo. Simmo was causing the Salisbury defence many problems and his snap shot on 88 minutes brought out a good save from Beauchamp.
A minute later the Row had another free kick opportunity. Edwards again took the kick from a difficult angle on the left and his effort brought out a good save from Beauchamp who pushed the shot over the bar.
The result means Salisbury are fifth in the table, occupying the final play-off spot.
They travel to Weston-super-Mare next Saturday afternoon.
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