By Matt Friday/Cornwall Sports Media

Falmouth Town manager Andrew Westgarth was a relieved man after Jack Bray-Evans' stoppage-time goal rescued a point in their Western League opener at home to Wellington.

Town fell behind to the Somerset outfit midway through the first half via Tom Stone's strike, with Jack Bray-Evans' equaliser on the hour being cancelled out by Miles Quick less than a minute later.

The newly-promoted hosts were given a lifeline when Eli Collins received a second yellow card with just under 20 minutes to go, with Town then having an equaliser ruled out when goalkeeper Rob Hall's spilled catch was adjudged to have not crossed the line.

However, the ten men's resistance finally ended in the second minute of stoppage time when Bray-Evans turned James Ward's headed cross past the visiting goalkeeper to salvage an opening-day draw.

"It was definitely a game of two halves," Westgarth said. "[In] the first half we were not at the races at all. We were so far off it, it was frightening. I think I said to the boys at half-time that Barnesy's [goalkeeper Ryan Barnes] made a good save at 0-1 and that's probably kept us in it, and then in the second half I thought we were excellent. 

"We came at them and obviously I was delighted to get the point towards the end because I didn't think it was going to be our day. I think Wardy's hit the bar, [it was] questionable whether another chance went over the line – he said it went over, most of the supporters said it's gone over.

"But we kept plugging away and we threw the kitchen sink at it in the last couple of minutes. We put Wardy up there, [he made] a great header across goal and Jack Bray-Evans gets on the end of it. Even that just squeezed in and the way our day was going I thought that might have been disallowed or something. 

"I'm 100 per cent taking the point, we're off the mark. There's definitely lessons to be learned, lots of positives, but definitely areas we need to work on."

A below par first half from Town meant the hosts were deservedly behind at the break, but the momentum shifted after the turnaround with Westgarth's men looking much more like their normal selves.

Bray-Evans brought Town back on level terms with a fine header just after the hour, but a concentration lapse allowed Quick to break through and fire the ball past Barnes within a minute of the restart.

But a controversial second yellow card for Collins swung the balance back in Town's favour, with the ten men of Wellington – which was briefly reduced to nine when Joe Chamberlain was sent to the sin bin – struggling to contain their hosts.

It looked as if the Tangerines were going to hold on to the points, only for makeshift striker Ward to nod Gordon-Dunn's long ball towards Bray-Evans, who powerfully headed past Hall to secure a share of the spoils in the second minute of stoppage time.

"I was really frustrated because we'd worked really hard to get back into the game at 1-1 and I thought the momentum was definitely with us," Westgarth said. "They always say you're at your most vulnerable when you've scored, and 30 seconds later it's just a nothing ball over the top, [Quick's] nutmegged Kayden [Gordon-Dunn], come in and toe-poked it into the corner.

"You could sense the atmosphere just drop, but that's where you've got to give credit to the boys because I thought we kept plugging away. Barnesy was relatively quiet and we had a lot of chances. Jack could have had a hat-trick on another day, Charlie Edney's had a couple of shots and we've asked a couple of questions, but I'm absolutely delighted to get a point and get off the mark."