TEENAGER Omari Brown came off the bench to earn a point for 10-man Redditch United in a 1-1 derby draw against Bromsgrove Sporting.
Brown scored minutes after his introduction to draw the Reds level after Tyrone Lewthwaite’s penalty put the home side in front at the Victoria Ground.
That came after Reds defender Luke Ward saw red on 29 minutes only for the Reds to come away with a point and extended their unbeaten run against Bromsgrove to eight matches.
The result leaves Redditch fifth in the Southern League Premier Central table, three points clear of the chasing pack in the race for a play-off place.
Bromsgrove almost took the lead in fortuitous fashion early on when Harrison Mole headed a corner from the right against his own crossbar.
And Lewthwaite then lost his footing at the crucial moment after he raced through on goal with only Tyrese Warmington to beat.
As tackles began to fly in, the referee brandished a straight red card to Ward after he tangled with Jordan Lyden close to the Bromsgrove penalty area.
And Sporting made the most of the extra man on 63 minutes when Lewthwaite confidently scored from 12-yards out after Lyden went to ground in the box and the referee pointed to the spot.
The Rouslers spurned a glorious chance to double their lead when Morgan Owen blocked Luke Benbow’s effort after the striker rounded Warmington.
United almost drew level at the other end as Rory Brown tipped Danny King’s header onto the crossbar.
However, the Reds equalised from the resulting corner as the ball eventually made its way to O Brown who fired a shot into the left corner of the goal from 15-yards out.
Sporting pushed for a late winner as Jack Newell saw his goalbound effort cleared to safety by Dexter Dudley-Toole from just in front of the line.
Redditch are next in action against Worcester City on Saturday, January 3 with kick-off at 3pm at the Valley Stadium.
