GRIMSBY TOWN 2 HULL CITY 2

Grimsby Town's second string were twice pegged back against Humber Bank rivals Hull City in the first reserve outing of the season at Blundell Park.

The Mariners thought they had done enough for the three points but the Tigers struck in injury time to ensure that they left Cleethorpes with a point in the bag.

Dave Moore took charge of his first reserve encounter and was able to name a strong side for the visit of the Championship outfit. Dwayne Samuels, Mark Gray, Scott Garner and Lawrence Heward lined up in front of Peet. Josh Fuller lined up on the right wing with Micky Cummins partnering Bradley Wood in the centre of midfield. Drew Rhoades moved out to the left and Nathan Dixon partnered Tom Corner up front.

The visitors had three familiar faces in their ranks with Mark Oxley starting in goal, Jamie Devitt named at right wing and Nicky Featherstone up front - all three spent time on loan at Blundell Park last season. In addition, the Tigers' backroom staff featured ex-Mariners' assistant Stuart Watkiss and former players Craig Shakespeare and Mark Prudhoe. Another one to watch in the Hull ranks would be highly-rated centre half Liam Cooper.

It was a cagey opening from both sides and it was the home side who took the lead with the first attack of the game on 24 minutes. Cummins and Corner linked up well to play in Dixon and he threaded a ball through into the path of Rhoades who finished confidently past Oxley from 10 yards.

Town had their tails up now and Cummins unleashed a thunderbolt of a drive that whistled just wide of the upright on the half-hour. There was a further setback for the visitors when Devitt limped off on 36 minutes after a heavy challenge by Gray - the Irish winger left Blundell Park on crutches and was replaced by Ray Ford.

City were unlucky not to draw level on 41 minutes. A free kick was floated into the area by Danny Wilkinson and Gavin Holohan rose with Peet. The Hull man got his head to the ball and it was looping towards the open goal when Samuels got back to hook clear.

The Mariners went into the break in front and Hull responded by replacing Cooper with Steve Gardner and undertaking a reshuffle at the back. It was Town who liked adding to the scoreline though and Garner was unlucky to see his powerful header flash just wide of the post from Fuller's 55th-minute corner.

The Town winger then linked up well with the pacy Samuels who was dragged down by Dean Deagle, the referee brandishing a yellow card for the Hull man. The Mariners then made their first change of the evening; local trialist David Deane coming on in place of Cummins and taking up a left wing position with Rhoades moving infield.

On 68 minutes the Tigers drew level though. Conor Townsend and Featherstone linked up well to set-up a shooting opportunity for Ford but he blasted his effort high over the bar from 15 yards. The officials inexplicably awarded a corner though and from the set piece the equaliser arrived. The Town defence was caught napping and Featherstone was left unmarked to nod home from six yards.

The hosts responded well and won a penalty less than two minutes later. The Tigers got themselves in a real mess at the back and allowed Dixon to nip in. He was dragged down from behind by substitute Gardner and Corner stepped up to smash the penalty into the roof of the net.

Moore's side should have had a second penalty from their next foray forward. Corner burst through a gap in the City defence and was hauled down by Wilkinson. It looked a more clear-cut infringement than the one 60 seconds previously but the referee waved away the appeals from the hosts.

Corner was involved in controversy again when the ball next came forward. Deagle went down after tangling with the Town striker in the air and the City bench claimed that an elbow was thrown and Sonny Bradley stepped into the fray, only to be confronted by Wood. It was very much handbags at ten paces from both parties but Wood was replaced by Andi Thanoj in the aftermath.

Another Town sub, striker Sam Mulready, on in place of Dixon, came agonisingly close to putting the game to bed after another fine move. Gray launched a long ball out of defence that Corner expertly controlled with his chest. The big striker flicked the ball inside two defenders for the onrushing Mulready who danced beyond two defenders and poked the ball past Oxley, only to see it rebound off the post to Thanoj who smashed over from 18 yards.

Substitute Gardner was substituted for the visitors and his replacement Danny East would play a major role in the Tigers' equaliser on 90 minutes. His hopeful cross from the left was fumbled by Peet and the linesman on the Findus stand side adjudged the ball to have crossed the line despite the young Town stopper scrambling to clear the ball.

There was still time for the Mariners to come close to snatching a winner though. Mulready played in Corner on the right-hand edge of the box but his 15 yard drive was always rising and ended up clearing the angle of post and crossbar.

TOWN: Peet; Samuels, Heward, Gray, Garner; Fuller, Cummins (Deane), Wood (Thanoj), Rhoades; Dixon (Mulready), Corner.

CITY: Oxley; Wilkinson, Deagle, Bradley, L Cooper (Gardner (East)); Devitt (Ward), Holohan, Fox, Townsend; Featherstone, Emerton. Subs not used: J Cooper, Ward