NEW boss Dave Wakefield said he was "delighted" to see Bashley open their Ryman League points account at the first attempt.

Wakefield looked on from the dugout as Steve Riley's stunning equaliser handed the New Forest outfit a share of the spoils at Church Road.

"We should have won," said Wakefield. "But I was very pleased with a draw away from home in the first game of the season and very pleased with the performance.

"We started the game very well, dominated for the first 15 minutes and were by far the better side.

"They scored against the run of play and we told the lads at half-time to carry on the way they were playing because they would get something out of the game and that's the way it turned out.

"We were looking strong even before we got our goal. The players did what was asked of them at half-time and we created another two or three good chances after we had scored."

Wakefield handed debuts to Adam Lang and Pete Becklar, while Neil Morant, Andy Darnton, Riley, Josh Thomas and Jimmy Anderson all made their first appearances since rejoining the club.

However, Bash were forced into a reshuffle after just 22 minutes when Aussie striker Becklar suffered a recurrence of a calf injury and was replaced by Steele Saunders.

Bash started brightly with Darnton having a shot deflected over the top following a corner before Whyteleafe broke the deadlock on 18 minutes when Lewis Taylor cut the ball back for Lee Sidwell to drive in a shot from the edge of the area.

Richard Gillespie then had an effort blocked before he headed a good chance wide following an excellent cross from Anderson. Gillespie also had a shot well saved by James Wastell.

Bash levelled on 55 minutes when a long throw from Paul Gazzard was only half cleared to Riley who dispatched a sumptuous 25-yard volley into the bottom corner.

Wakefield said: "Steve took his goal really well. The ball came down from a great height and he watched it all the way and volleyed it into the bottom corner."

Bash almost stole the points in the final seconds when Gillespie got in behind the defence, only to fire his shot over the top despite appearing to have his shirt tugged.

Bashley: Elm, Darnton, Riley, Thomas, Morant, Lang, Anderson, Culliford, Gazzard, Gillespie, Becklar (Saunders, 22). Unused subs: Williams, Wakefield, Kabir, Harper (g/k).