Macquarie United coach Paul Crain said in the lead-up to the Western Premier League kick-off the goal for his side was to get points away from home.
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That's exactly what he got in the season opener at Orange on Saturday.
In a dramatic and sometimes chaotic fixture Macquarie and Barnstoneworth FC played out a 1-1 draw at Sir Jack Brabham Park.
The drama started in the 9th minute when Barnies' keeper Matt Savaro collided with Macquarie's forward Jaryd Abbott inside the box, gifting the men in blue a penalty kick but also forcing both players to leave the field with nasty facial lacerations.
Savaro attempted to play on but after Glen Schein put the shot shot past him to open the scoring, had to leave the field with blurred vision.
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The substitution was a tricky one to overcome but Barnies had the luxury of an experienced keeper in its backline as Brock Logan put the gloves on for the ensuing 80 minutes and wouldn't be beaten for his entire stint at goalie.
After falling into an early hole, Josh Summerson's men gathered themselves and were able to strike back quickly as Brazilian Paulo Grassi put one into the back of the net after a near-miss from Jackson Fuda had the opposition keeper on the back foot.
The 20th minute breakthrough would be the final change on the scoreboard as both sides battled to create attacking chances but weren't able to capture the go-ahead goal.
"To come here in these types of conditions and get one point... we're very happy with that," Crain said post-game.
"Our goal this year is to get points whenever we come away so to get a point today is like a win for us."
Macquarie held on late as the hosts finished with a flurry but Barnies skipper Summerson was also content at full-time.
"It's hard to go down a keeper and a goal in the first ten minutes," Summerson said.
"We did a pretty good job to scrap back over the next 80 and we had a lot of possession in the second half so we're pretty happy with that."
Summerson also had praise for the Macquarie lineup.
"They're quality... absolute quality," he said.
"They're a bit like us... broken from stop-start training but when their combinations get going in 3-4 weeks, it'll be a completely different story."
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Jake Humphreys
Sports nut at the Central Western Daily.
Sports nut at the Central Western Daily.
