WHETHER this was a vital point gained or two dropped by Torpoint at Erme Valley won’t become clear for a couple of weeks as the race for automatic promotion continues to thrill.

With rivals Clevedon Town, Paulton Rovers and Barnstaple all winning their Easter Monday fixtures, it felt like a big disappointment for the visitors as their supporters greeted the final whistle in silence.

But they might just look back on this result as crucial after their team showed incredible resilience to equalise three times in the second half on a day when the windy conditions made it difficult to play decent football.

Great credit should also be given to Ivybridge, who worked their socks off all over the pitch to fully deserve their point.

Torpoint cannot have gone into the game over confident because they lost 4-1 at the venue in late October when they crashed out of the Les Phillips Cup.

And when Chris Harvey headed the home side into the lead after 29 minutes after great work by Joe Johnson, the warning signs were there for the Cornish team, who found it hard to come to terms with the conditions throughout the first half.

With the easterly gust at their backs they overhit many passes and the set pieces of skipper Elliott Crawford, usually such a potent weapon, continually flew high across the penalty area and out of the reach of anybody.

Torpoint had to be better in the second half and they were; they looked more threatening going forward, especially along the left flank, and that’s where they found the route to their 56th minute equaliser.

Joe Rapson, having seen a close range shot bounce off a post a minute earlier, brought danger again on the left side of the penalty area and this time he laid the ball across the six yard box for Dave Barker to score.

This proved a false dawn for the visitors because Ivybridge restored their lead five minutes later with big centre-half Joe Cook powerfully heading in a whipped corner.

This was the signal for Torpoint changes as Callum Martindale and Rikki Shepherd replaced Tom Payne and Rapson as the search for a second equaliser was stepped up.

It came in the 77th minute when a set-piece by Crawford finally brought a reward, with Freddie Chapman moving in from the edge of the penalty area to head across keeper Jason Peters into the far corner of the net.

With at least 13 minutes to go, suddenly Torpoint saw an opportunity to turn a draw into a win and they poured forward in a bid to go ahead for the first time.

Unfortunately for them, they were caught out in the 82nd minute from their own corner which was cleared upfield. A Torpoint player misjudged the bounce of the ball and Kai Burrell turned past him to smash a left foot shot past Ryan Rickard into the net.

That would have finished most sides but Torpoint haven’t got to fourth in the table without fighting spirit.

With two minutes of normal time left a speculative ball into the box fell invitingly for Curtis Damerell and he just managed to stretch for the ball and lift it over the advancing Peters to make it 3-3.

The referee played seven minutes of added time and in the last seconds Torpoint had a chance to snatch a winner when James Rowe’s corner was headed on at the near post but Peters managed to grab the ball under pressure from several Torpoint players.

Torpoint joint manager Dean Cardew said: “It was a really tough battle yesterday (Monday) against an Ivybridge side who always put up a strong fight at home.

“I thought for half an hour, without playing well, we were in control of the game and then typically conceded a really soft goal with Ivybridge’s first attack which inevitably put us on the back foot.

“We continued to huff and puff for the rest of the half, but without making their keeper make any sort of significant save.

“The second half we just looked like a team dead on their feet after such a relentless schedule, and continued to give away some really sloppy goals.

“But I also have to give big credit to the lads for digging deep and getting themselves back in the game on three separate occasions to win us a hard-earned point.”

IVYBRIDGE TOWN: Jason Peters; James Forrest, Jadore Lawson (Abo Camara, 90+4), Hayden Baugh, Joe Cook, Ryan Geach, Jake Smelt (George Richardson, 69), Owen Howard (Tom Huyton, 65), Chris Harvey (Billy Spurway, 81), Josh Johnson (Kaycee Ogwu, 64), Kai Burrell.

TORPOINT ATHLETIC: Ryan Rickard; Dave Barker, Freddie Chapman, Owen Haslam, Callum O’Brien, Elliott Crawford (capt), Laurence Murray (James Rowe, 53), Tom Payne (Callum Martindale, 68), Curtis Damerell, Joe Rapson (Rikki Shepherd, 68), Sam Pearson. Subs not used: Sam Hepworth, Darren Hicks.

Men-of-the-match: Ivybridge Town – Jadore Lawson; Torpoint Athletic – Owen Haslam.