Fort William and Formartine shared the points in an entertaining game at Claggan Park, with both goals coming in a seven-minute spell early in the second half.
Home manager Ally Ewen was delighted with his team’s display and said: “It was a tough test and with the position we’re in, every point is crucial. We wanted to make life difficult for them and we certainly did that.
“Our goalkeeper was outstanding, as were the team as a whole.
“If certain decisions had gone our way it could have been a different story and we might have got all three points.”
Fort started well and nine minutes in an angled drive from Scott Davidson was touched on to the crossbar by goalkeeper Ewen Macdonald.
At the other end Conor Gethins crashed his shot off the crossbar from 18 yards.
Eight minutes before the break, a Stuart Anderson header from six yards was brilliantly repelled by Douglas Maclennan in the home goal.
Macdonald emulated his counterpart with a superb stop from Iain Foggo from point blank range to keep the scores level at the interval.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 58th minute when Sean Ellis was played in by Scott Davidson and he fired an excellent low angled drive across the goalkeeper into the net.
Seven minutes later a long-range Jamie Masson shot was parried by Maclennan into the path of Scott Barbour, who equalised from eight yards.
Formartine manger Kris Hunter said: “It was a strange game with lots of chances created at both ends, but a fair reflection of the game would have been around 10-4 to us.
“I was impressed by Fort William, Sean Ellis brings a difference in class to their team and was superb. We had five or six one-on-ones so I’m frustrated at the chances we missed, we have to take them when they come along.”
