Northwood’s recent barren spell continued as they shared the points with Barton Rovers who belied their lowly league position with a spirited second-half performance at Chestnut Avenue.

There were a couple of changes to the team which lost at Marlow, goalkeeper Ashley Harris returning to Northwood as stand-in for Xavi Comas, while there was a debut in attack for Ned Clarke who replaced Dernell Wynter following his arrival from Hanwell Town.

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The Woods were quickly into their strides, Evans Kouassi trying his luck from distance before Harry Newman drew a save from visiting keeper Matt Finlay with a close-range shot. And the early pressure persisted as Tom Gilbey went close with an inventive volley from the edge of the box which flew narrowly over the Barton crossbar.

The visitors gradually began to settle and they spurned a golden opportunity to take the lead as Sam Oyineran shot wide from close in before Harris was called into action to deal with a long-rang effort from Ben Sawyer. However, it was the Woods who went ahead on 37 minutes when a slick move ended with Kouassi applying the finishing touch for his fifth league goal of the season.

Northwood continued to enjoy the majority of the play, with Charley Barker pulling the strings in midfield. But despite their dominance, Woods were struggling to create clear-cut chances, with Chingoka’s shot from outside the box comfortably dealt with by Finlay.

And it was Barton who finished the first period on the front foot as Oyineran flashed a shot across the face of goal before Harris produced a smart save to divert Paul Andrew’s header over the bar.

The second half was slow to warm up before Kouassi livened up proceedings  with a shot from the edge of the box which was well saved by Finlay. But Rovers were visibly growing more confident and they  deservedly drew level on 58 minutes as Harris was left flat-footed by Jack Keating’s low drive from outside the box.

Paolo Montella was introduced for Clarke on the hour as Woods looked to freshen up their attack and the substitute was quickly into the action as his low cross found Kouassi, whose snap-shot was turned away by Finlay. At the other end, Harris dealt with a speculative strike from Hugh Alban-Jones.

Harry Newman made way for Hakim Nyariki while Declan Nche replaced a tiring Chingoka, but Northwood were struggling to make any real impression. And it was the visitors with former Wood Romaine Walker on as substitute, who were looking more threatening as Alban-Jones shot wide when well placed before Andrew Phillips found himself with only Harris to beat but he scuffed his shot and the chance was gone.

Despite their efforts, Woods were growing increasingly ineffective in the final third and the contest gradually petered with both sides settling for a share of the spoils.