GRIMSBY Town shared the points with Lincoln City after a frenetic Lincolnshire derby at Blundell Park.
The Mariners turned in another display full of effort, commitment and plenty of skill but they were ultimately frustrated in their attempts to avoid setting a new club record for games without a win.
The match started badly for the hosts as they fell behind with just three minutes on the clock, with Aston Villa loanee Chris Herd flicking the ball past Nick Colgan.
Town rallied, looking more and more dangerous as the half went on and they got their reward when Lee Peacock forced the ball over the line for the equaliser following a goalmouth scramble six minutes before the break.
The comeback looked to be complete a minute into the second half when Peacock struck again to put the Mariners ahead and with the home side in total control, it looked like this may finally be the day when things started to go Grimsby's way.
But it was not to be as Lincoln were awarded a penalty after a foul by Rob Atkinson and winger Brian Gilmour netted the rebound to claim a point after his initial kick had been saved by Colgan.
Neil Woods made two changes to his Town side for the visit of the Imps.
One was enforced, with Peter Sweeney missing out through suspension after picking up his 10th yellow card of the season in the draw at Notts County in midweek.
He was replaced by Michael Coulson, while Peacock came back into the XI in place of Adam Proudlock, who dropped to the bench.
Colgan began in goal, protected by an unchanged back four of Peter Bore, Olly Lancashire, Atkinson and Joe Widdowson.
Jamie Devitt followed his goalscoring debut at Meadow Lane by making his first home start for the Mariners as part of a midfield that also included Mark Hudson, Dean Sinclair and Coulson, while Peacock was joined by Tommy Wright in attack.
The Grimsby substitutes were Leigh Overton, Proudlock, Nick Hegarty, Paul Linwood, Michael Leary, Wes Fletcher and Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro.
Lincoln made the short journey along the A46 buoyed by a last-minute victory against Accrington in midweek that took the Sincil Bank side 10 points clear of the Mariners at the bottom end of League Two.
Among the ones to watch in red and white would be veteran striker Drewe Broughton, who started as the lone frontman in Chris Sutton's side.
Further experience came in the form of midfielder Scott Kerr, while Stefan Oakes and striker Lennell John-Lewis would be options from the bench.
A bigger than average crowd saw Lincoln kick off in bright sunshine but it was the Mariners who started brightly, with Widdowson forcing an early corner on the left.Devitt took it but the set-piece led to Sinclair volleying well wide from 18 yards.
The early promise quickly turned into a nightmare though, as the visitors took a fourth-minute lead.A free kick from Matthew Saunders was headed on inside the penalty area and midfielder HERD was there to flick the ball past Colgan from close range and leave Town with everything to do.
The hosts had the opportunity to strike back five minutes later when a floated cross from Sinclair on the left was headed down for Wright but he was unable to get a shot in.
Coulson then tried his luck with a curling effort from 20 yards but the shot was comfortable for visiting keeper Rob Burch.
Town were seeing more of the ball as the game passed the quarter-hour mark but were not causing any problems for Burch or the City defence, with a low, bobbling effort from Hudson easy for the keeper.
At the other end, the Mariners were looking unsteady in defence and they could have gone further behind when the unmarked Herd picked the ball up from a throw-in.He crossed for Broughton but the Rotherham loanee's side-footed shot went wide.
Widdowson produced a cross after a run down the left that found Wright but the striker could only divert the ball into Burch's arms.
Another opportunity came when Peacock turned his man on the edge of the area before playing the ball to Hudson.His first-time shot was placed just too high.
Town appeared to be gaining confidence and were playing some good football and creating chances, albeit without really threatening the Imps goal.
Wright saw a shot deflected wide for a corner on 24 minutes after being teed up by Peacock but the corner only succeeded in finding Burch.
Herd was the first player of the afternoon to see referee Mark Haywood's yellow card, shown for a foul on Hudson near the halfway line.
From the resulting free kick, the ball came to Devitt on the left and he went on to win another set-piece after being fouled by Cian Hughton to the left of the City penalty area.Widdowson delivered the ball to Atkinson at the far post but he headed over the bar.
Broughton was guilty of missing a good chance to extend the away side's advantage shortly after the half-hour.The striker was through on goal but his shot from 12 yards was weak and Colgan gratefully gathered it.
Both sides were creating opportunities in what was an entertaining game and the Mariners were next to go close when Widdowson had a shot deflected away for a corner after Lincoln failed to clear the ball inside their own penalty area.
Soon afterwards, the Mariners had the equaliser their positive play had deserved.A foul by Kerr gave Grimsby a free kick 30 yards out and Devitt's whipped delivery was headed straight up into the air inside the six yard box.When it came down, a scramble ensued before PEACOCK managed to force it over the line.
Town were now on top in the game and Devitt was given another chance to get the ball into the box from a free kick when Sinclair was fouled by Herd inside the Lincoln half.This time, the delivery from the Hull City loanee did not have the same effect and Burch watched it drop wide for a goal kick.
Three added minutes were played at the end of the half as Grimsby continued to attack.A cross from Coulson on the right went out of play before good covering from Peacock stopped Herd from launching an attack in the other direction.
That was the last action of a half that the Mariners started badly but ended on a high, bossing possession and territory and looking increasingly dangerous as the game went on.
No changes were made by either side at the interval and the Mariners had a dream start to the second half as they took the lead within a minute of the restart.
A driving run by Coulson on the right led to the Barnsley loanee crossing for PEACOCK and he took a touch before smashing the ball past Burch from eight yards.
Lincoln almost came up with an instant reply when Hughton crossed from the right but Lancashire got back superbly to head away for a corner.
Herd was handed a stern warning by referee Haywood after pulling Sinclair back in the centre circle but the City man escaped a second yellow card.
It was all Town as the home supporters roared the men in black and white on and Widdowson went close with a shot from 18 yards after taking the ball on from Devitt, following a through-ball by Coulson.
But for all their dominance, the Mariners gave their visitors the perfect chance to get back on level terms as the game approached the hour mark.Atkinson was adjudged to have fouled winger Gilmour inside the penalty area and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
GILMOUR got up to take the kick himself and his initial effort was saved by Colgan but the ball came back out to the penalty taker, who made no mistake with the rebound to square the contest at two goals apiece.
The Lincoln supporters thought their side had taken the lead two minutes later when Herd headed a cross into the net but the effort was ruled out for a push on Colgan.
The game was moving from end to end at a frantic pace and Town almost had their advantage back when Coulson got to the by-line on the right and sent over another low cross.Peacock missed the chance to complete his hat-trick though, shooting over the bar from six yards.
Wright smashed a shot well over the bar before Peacock won a corner on the right as Town looked to get themselves back in front.From the flag, a goalmouth scramble was eventually dealt with by the Imps as Town just could not force the ball into the net.
The game then stopped for Lincoln defender Adam Watts to receive treatment on what looked like a nasty injury sustained when he was caught by Peacock.After a lengthy delay, he was stretchered off and replaced by Moses Swaibu.
Kerr was booked for a late challenge on Bore inside the Town half before Gilmour drilled a low shot wide of Colgan's post after a lay-off from Broughton.
The shot was Gilmour's last involvement in the game as he was replaced by Lennell John-Lewis with 15 minutes to go.
Broughton was booked for a foul on Lancashire out on the right and from the free kick, a drive from Devitt was beaten away by Burch.
Town won a corner on the left on 80 minutes but Peacock could not force Devitt's long, far-post delivery into the net, with the Lincoln defence eventually clearing their lines.
Hughton made a good interception for Lincoln to prevent Coulson's deep cross from reaching Peacock, at the expense of a corner.Devitt's kick was headed away from danger.
Wes Fletcher replaced Wright for Town with a little more than five minutes left on the clock.
Peacock won a free kick when he was fouled on the edge of the Lincoln box on 88 minutes but Devitt's near-post shot from 25 yards was caught by Burch.
At the other end, Colgan had his palms stung by a fierce 25-yard drive from Steve Lennon and from the resulting corner, the Mariners were indebted to Hudson as he somehow managed to head the ball onto his own bar and away after a powerful goalbound header from Ian Pearce.
Seven additional minutes were signalled as both sides pushed forward in search of a winning goal.
Coulson won a corner for the Mariners on the left with three minutes to play but the ball was headed away after Devitt's near-post delivery.
A long throw from Bore was then headed behind for another home corner in front of the packed Pontoon Stand.From it, an attempted shot by Atkinson looked to hit Herd on the arm but as the Town players and supporters screamed appeals for handball, the referee gave only a corner.
The flag-kick was cleared and that was the cue for Mr Haywood to blow for full-time, bringing a terrific game of football to an end and extending Grimsby's winless run to a club record 23 games.
It was another very encouraging performance by the Mariners but they were unable to convert their chances into a victory, making three points from Tuesday's visit of Macclesfield an absolute must.
