Peterhead left Forfar’s Station Park having secured a point in a 1-1 draw however there will be regrets that it was not three points especially as the Blue Toon were leading 1-0 when they were awarded a penalty with six minutes left.
Manager Jim McInally selected the same starting eleven that lost last Tuesday night to Clyde with the Balmoor boss looking for a far punchier display from his men and he got it in the opening stages.
The Blue Toon started off in determined fashion and in the opening seconds Ben Armour sent a warning shot towards the home goal.
With six minutes played skipper Scott Brown fired in one of his trademark powerfully hit shots from the edge of the box and Forfar goalkeeper Marc McCallum had to make a fine stop to keep out Brown’s low effort.
Brown tried his luck again two minutes later but again McCallum was equal to it with Steven Boyd shooting wide of goal shortly afterwards.
As Peterhead continued to push and probe a scramble in front of the Forfar goal ended when Armour was denied from close range.
Forfar tried to make the most of Peterhead not making a breakthrough when Scott Shepherd was presented with a chance on 20 minutes however his effort was blocked. Shepherd did well to win a corner for the hosts midway through the opening half however the Blue Toon got back on top however they could not turn chances into goals.
Andy McDonald became the latest player to be denied by McCallum when the shot-stopper prevented his effort hitting the top corner and Armour was kept out when a curling shot was caught by the Loons number one.
Peterhead’s misfortune in front of goal continued at the start of the second half with Boyd cutting past the high defence before firing over.
However with an hour gone the Balmoor men finally got a goal and it was on-loan Inverurie Locos midfielder Hamish Ritchie the grabbed it. The attacking midfielder timed his run perfectly to avoid an offside flag and he finally got the better of McCallum as he stroked the ball home.
Ritchie could have grabbed a quick-fire second however he dragged his effort wide of goal with the same player firing wide of goal with 20 minutes left.
With seven minutes left Peterhead had the perfect opportunity to move further ahead when Scott Brown was brought down in the box by Graeme Holmes however Boyd’s effort from 12 yards was saved by McCallum.
The Station Park side made the most of that reprieve by grabbing an equaliser on 86 minutes when Bernard Coll picked out Martin Scott and his header crossed the line despite Joshua Rae’s best efforts.
Peterhead – Rae, Freeman, Jason Brown, MacDonald, Conroy, Ferry, S Brown, McCarthy, Ritchie (Jordon Brown 85), Boyd (McGrath 87), Armour (Payne 66)
Unused substitutes – Wilson (G/k), Bailey, Kesson, Lyle, Strachan