Two first-half penalties ensured 10-man Salford and Newport shared the spoils from an entertaining 1-1 League Two draw at the Peninsula stadium.

The Exiles raced into an early lead through Shane McLoughlin’s 11th-minute spot-kick, awarded after Curtis Tilt mistimed his sliding challenge on David Ajiboye.

Nelson Jardim’s side missed a glorious chance to double their advantage when Josh Martin blazed Kai Whitmore’s cutback over the crossbar from close range.

But Salford battled their way back into the contest and restored parity with a penalty of their own after Keiron Evans brought down Ben Shephard in the box and Hakeeb Adelakun calmly converted from 12 yards.

Bidding to end their barren run of five-consecutive defeats, Newport sat back after the interval and Salford began to boss possession without troubling Nick Townsend in the visitors’ goal.

Newport were handed an opportunity to turn the tide after 75 minutes when Tyrese Fornah was dismissed for a second bookable offence for a foul on James Clarke.

But the Exiles failed to press home their numerical advantage and were forced to settle for a valuable away point.