Barwell opened the game brightly, with the defence looking for balls into the channels from the start. Matt Stenson proved to be a great threat, creating chances for Ryan Seal and then working chances for himself - but Barwell were unable to find the target.
Midway through the first half, Halesowen started to creep into the game. Chances for Finney and Udoh were squandered in the box, ultimately not testing Liam Castle in the Barwell goal.
Five minutes before the break, Barwell left-back Declan Towers was sent off for a tackle that was deemed dangerous by the evening's referee. The Canaries then switched to a back three of Cameron Gilchrist, Craig Stanley and Liam Kay; with Nigel Julien dropping that little bit deeper to provide some cover in front of them.
The tension from this was evident at the start of the second half, and Stenson and McAtee both had good chances to give their side the lead.
On 58 minutes, towering striker Kyle Perry capitalised on a defensive error, but still had a lot of hard work to do as he ran through and smashed the ball past an onrushing goalkeeper.
Less than 15 minutes later, Halesowen's Jack Kelly curled a deceptive free-kick past Liam Castle to find an equaliser for his side.
With nine minutes of the 90 left to play, Woodhouse was dismissed for the visitors - after he picked up a second yellow card. Owen Story looked the most likely to create a winner for Barwell, but the team's efforts weren't quite enough to get over the line.
Barwell XI: Liam Castle, Cameron Gilchrist, Declan Towers, Craig Stanley, Liam Kay, Nigel Julien, Owen Story, Jake Heath, Kyle Perry, Ryan Seal (Tom Bates 75'), Matt Stenson (Ryan Baldwin 82').
Unused subs: Jake Whitmore, Nathan Edgington, Guy Hadland.
# | Team | Pl | Pts |
7. | Witton Albion | 46 | 70 |
8. | Buxton | 46 | 64 |
9. | Barwell | 46 | 64 |
10. | Stourbridge | 46 | 62 |
11. | Workington | 46 | 62 |
12. | Mickleover Sports | 46 | 61 |
13. | Stafford Rangers | 46 | 61 |