Penrith remain in trouble at the foot of Northern League Division One after a 3-1 defeat at Ashington.
Yet the Cumbrians had led from the 13th minute until the hour mark when Ashington found an equaliser.
Penrith weren’t helped by a second bookable offence for Matthew Moynan which saw him sent-off after 75 minutes, and it became a desperate struggle to hold on for the point.
Arran Taylor had distinguished himself throughout with some outstanding saves but he could do little about two late goals which earned Ashington all three points.
Penrith had taken the lead when Jamie Armstrong converted a penalty to give them a much-needed incentive, which they held onto for 47 minutes.
However Jordan Lashley levelled for the hosts and after Moynan’s dismissal they won it with goals from Adam Johnson (85) and Dean Briggs (90).
Manager Chris Humphrey gave debuts to former Carlisle United and Annan full-back Charlie Birch, who he had with him on loan at Kendal last season.
Another former Kendal player Craig McCaragher, more recently with Widnes, was also included in midfield for his Penrith debut.
Penrith chairman Billy Williams said: “It was a disappointing result for us but we just have to keep believing we can get out of trouble.
“We have a massive game on Saturday when Northallerton visit us. It’s the proverbial six-pointer.”
Three teams share bottom spot on 18 points – Northallerton from 24 games, Bishop Auckland from 22 and Penrith from 23.
