A last-gasp equaliser earned Cougars a share of the spoils at Devonshire Rec.

yesterday just when Vasco thought they had both points in the bag.

The home side fought back gamely with only 10 men after Darrid Durrant was sent off for handling in the penalty area with the second half just nine minutes old.

Corey Hill bundled the ball into the back of the net after the hand ball, but referee Roddy Burchall had already pointed to the spot.

Earl Richardson made no mistake as he put the visitors in front for the first time.

Cougars had opened the scoring after just five minutes when Clevie Campbell slipped between two flat-footed defenders, and rounded stand-in 'keeper Kentoine Jennings before coolly slotting the ball home.

But Vasco were back on level terms just 15 minutes later when a superbly-taken Hill free kick soared over the wall and 'keeper Leon Place into the top of the Cougars net.

And when Vasco went 2-1 up through Richardson's spot kick, it seemed as if 10-man Cougars were sunk.

But they refused to accept defeat, pushing men forward in numbers in a bid to find the equaliser.

And find it they did, just six minutes from the end, when Wali Salaam's well-struck long-distance shot left Jennings stranded between the Vasco posts.

Cougars had bombarded the Vasco goal all afternoon hoping to catch out Jennings with high balls and long-range efforts.

He proved himself equal to the task on almost every occasion, but there was little he could do about Salaam's rocket which came at him through a crowd of players after the Vasco defence failed to clear the ball.

Salaam had come close to scoring on a handful of previous occasions with speculative efforts going just high and wide of the mark. The home fans went wild when he finally found the target.

Earlier, Vasco almost went 3-1 up when a point-blank bullet from substitute Shane Burgess was bravely saved by Place to keep Cougars in the hunt.

The hard-working Hill played a prominent role in nearly all the Vasco goal attempts providing a series of dangerous crosses as well as using his speed to get past defenders.

Cougars hung on in the dying minutes, catching out Vasco with the offside trap on several occasions as their depleted defence maintained their discipline to thwart the visitors.

Devonshire Cougars: L.Place, S.Coddington (P.Simmons, 80 mins), S.Smith, D.Durrant, T.Smith, G.Butterfield, M.Dill, W.Salaam, D.Brangman (D.Bean, 59 mins), C.Campbell, D.Russell.

Vasco: K.Jennings, P.Towlson, D.Stapley, S.Gibbons, D.Thomas, D.Livingston, C.Roberts (W.Burgess, 15 mins), K.Dill S.Burgess, 71 mins), M.Ray, E.Richardson, C.Hill.

Referee: Roddy Burchall Men of the match: Wali Salaam (Devonshire Cougars), Corey Hill (Vasco).