Ten-man Aldershot Town extended their unbeaten run to five games with a 2-2 draw at home to Brackley Town in the National League.

Goals from Josh Barrett and Archy Taylor were enough to earn the Shots a share of the spoils in front of a crowd of 2,240 at the EBB Stadium.

The match got off to a cagey start, but the visitors nearly took the lead in the 25th minute when Matt Lowe jinked into the box and squared the ball to Jack Price, but his effort was blocked by Ryan Hill for a corner.

The Shots created a good chance on 34 minutes when Tristan Abrahams linked up with Taylor and Abrahams burst into the box before hitting a left-foot shot which was well saved by Brackley keeper Jonathan Maxted.

Aldershot probed for an opener and their pressure paid off when they took the lead in the 41st minute. Dejan Tetek did superbly to beat his man in the box and his cutback was only cleared as far as Barrett, who emphatically drilled his finish into the back of the net.

The visitors created the first chance of the second half on 54 minutes when Bailey Hobson’s cross found Lowe in the box, and Lowe’s header into the ground bounced onto the crossbar and went over.

Brackley went close again four minutes later when Riccardo Calder’s ball in from the left found Lowe, whose close-range header was well blocked by Shots keeper Marcus Dewhurst.

The Shots nearly doubled their advantage in the 62nd minute when Barrett beat his man and clipped an inviting ball into the box which was headed over the bar by Charlie Penman.

Shots boss Tommy Widdrington made a double change on 63 minutes, with Hady Ghandour and Jed Meerholz replacing Abrahams and Penman.

Brackley were awarded a penalty a minute later, when Ben Jackson was penalised for fouling Gareth Dean at a corner. Jackson received a second yellow card from referee Richie Watkins as the Shots were reduced to ten men.

Shane Byrne stepped up from the spot and confidently fired his penalty into the right-hand corner of the net, despite Dewhurst going the right way, to make it 1-1.

Widdrington made another double change in the 81st minute, with Ryan Jones and James Henry replacing Hill and Barrett.

The visitors took the lead a minute later when a corner was flicked on to Lowe, who forced the ball home from close range.

The ten-man Shots responded superbly to that setback and were back on level terms on 84 minutes when Henry’s delivery from the left found Taylor on the edge of the box, who drilled his first-time left-foot finish into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

Despite six minutes of additional time, neither side were able to find a winner in the closing stages as honours finished even.

Next up for the Shots is a trip to Carlisle United in the National League on Saturday, September 13 (3pm kick-off).