Crawley boss Richie Barker was satisfied as his team held on for a 1-1 draw at Notts County to remain fourth in League One.

Reds had to weather the storm after falling behind to a goal from Neal Bishop after 12 minutes.

Jonathan Forte equalised against the run of play on the stroke of half-time before Lee Hughes and Yoann Arquin missed good chances to snatch all three points in the second half.

Barker said: "I'm pleased with a point and pleased with the character we showed.

"They were flying to start with but you expect that after back-to-back wins. There was a ten minute spell in both halves when they missed chances but we created chances as well, although they weren't as clear cut as theirs.

"I am amazed it finished 1-1 as it looked like a basketball game at one point but we showed some character and made sure we didn't get beaten."

Barker was delighted Forte responded to his call-up to the starting XI with a goal after making the big decision to drop skipper Gary Alexander who had gone 13 games without a goal.

He added: "I think he needed a break and he took the decision well. In fact I think he was relieved.

"I thought Jonathan was a real threat. In the first ten or 15 minutes he looked like the catalyst to get us something and he deserved his goal."