King's Lynn Town were held to a dour 1-1 draw on their long trip to Dorset.

The Linnets had been hoping to put an end to their three-match losing run, which was nearly extended but for a late penalty from captain Michael Clunan.

It was the Magpies who had the first real opportunity of the game, as goalkeeper Alex Street was nearly caught out by a flicked effort from Dorchester midfielder Jake Mawford, who had his effort cleared off the line by Conor Marshall.

King's Lynn dominated play but failed to create many clear-cut chances, instead nearly being caught out once more as Street spilled a cross from Tom Blair, which was cleared to safety before the on-rushing Mawford could pounce.

The visitors' first opportunity came from Ryan Harnwell, who picked up the ball inside the Magpies' half and surged towards goal before dragging his right-foot effort harmlessly wide.

Dorchester had the best chance of the opening period, as full-back Kyle Egan did well to keep the ball in play, before Blair's cross was met by the thigh of target-man Phil Ormrod whose effort went just over the crossbar.

The Linnets defended well, isolating Ormrod up front, and limiting supply into him with tight marking which left the Magpies struggling to carve out any real opportunities.

However, they did appear exposed down the flanks at times, with full-backs Egan and Neil Martin often finding space to drive forward and put balls into the box.

But for the occasional half-chance, the game appeared to be a typical end-of-season encounter, but in the last 15 minutes it came to life.

Mawford escaped the Linnets' offside trap and lobbed the ball over Street – a rare moment of quality, but it was cancelled out four minutes later when Magpies' defender Toby Down kicked out at a King's Lynn player in the penalty area, leading to a red card and a penalty which Clunan converted to grab a point in an even game.

King's Lynn Town: Street, Shipp, Mcleish, Marshall, Ward, Zielonka, Clunan, Everington, Lennon (McQuaid 62), Harnwell, Warburton. Subs not used: Hilliard, Congreve, Gaughran. Ref: James Robinson. Att: 356