SOLIHULL MOORS 3 (Kettle 61, Afolayan 69, Carter 73) BARROW AFC 3 (Nieskens 20, Jones 31, Panayiotou 90+6pen)
Goals from Dave Nieskens and Dan Joes had AFC sailing towards the win when they went in 2-0 up at half-time.
But the sending off of Jimmy Dunne seemed to have turned the game on its head as the hosts went 3-2 ahead after the break and held that advantage until the fifth minute of stoppage time.
That was when Moussa Diarra was fouled in the area and Harry Panayiotou stepped up to score the penalty that earned a remarkable point.
With Adi Yussuf still feeling the tightness in his hamstring that forced him off the field in the first half on Saturday, Paul Cox chose to take no risks, with Dan Cockerline coming in to partner Jordan White up front.
Solihull went into the game without a point from their opening two matches, with the stadium announcer declaring this to be the real start of their season.
They had most of the early play, though only a near-post corner which was headed wide from among a crowd represented any threat in the first 10 minutes.
Dan Jones’ long throws were again a key attacking asset for the visitors, with Connal Trueman having to stretch to claw one away as it reached the far post.
Moors had the first real chance as Jordan Liburb picked out loan striker Tahvon Campbell in space and with an opportunity to threaten the goal, but his first touch in the area was far too heavy and went straight to Stuart Moore in the AFC goal.
Jones was the provider as the deadlock was broken, only from a free-kick just inside the home half rather than from a throw, as his long lofted ball caused chaos, with Trueman coming and flapping. It was pinball in the area and the ball came out of a crowd near the 18-yard line and through the defenders near the line to settle in the net. It was Nieskens celebrating as he ran from the huddle claiming the final touch amid a forest of legs.
Trueman was at fault again for the second goal, as Jones struck a free-kick from halfway with power and direction – more than enough to catch out he home keeper, who was well off his line and had no chance of getting back, only able to watch the effort ripple the back of the goal.
There was little else of note before half-time, Asa Hall skewing a 20-yard volley well off-target and Campbell curling a tame effort right at Moore for the hosts as the two-goal cushion remained intact.
Solihull went on the attack from the start after the break, with Darren Carter twice delivering balls into the area from the left, the second of which was headed wide by Daniel Cleary.
A misplaced header from Jimmy Dunne set Tristian Dunkley on goal for Moors, and he was into the area before Moussa Diarra put in a key tackle to stop him getting a shot off.
It was consistent pressure from the hosts, and the AFC task was made harder when they lost Dunne to a red card on 55 following pushing and shoving in the Solihull area while they waited for a free-kick to be delivered.
The Bluebirds could hold out only five minutes with 10 men.
Despite bringing on Thierry Audel to replace Alex-Ray Harvey – thus giving them three central defenders – they were exposed from a corner to the centre of the six-yard box, where Joel Kettle rose to head home with ease above the Barrow defence.
Solihull kept looking and found the equaliser as Barrow failed to deal with an attack down the left and the ball found substitute Oladapo Afolayan in the area. He turned, and his shot deflected off Diarra and past a stranded Moore. It got worse when Darren Carter fired into the bottom corner from 18 yards for 3-2.
As Barrow now pressed for an equaliser, Solihull were able to attack on the break, and Luke Benbow was played through from halfway, only to find Audel tracking back with real pace to get in his way and force him into a shot that was well over the target.
Moore had to be alert to reach out at full stretch and turn a long-range effort over the bar that was heading for the roof of the net, with Barrow often in and around the home area but rarely doing anything to threaten once they got there.
Frustrations started to boil over, especially with the persistent time wasting from the home side and with the referee missing several home offences, including an arm to the face of Harry Panayiotou and a couple of possible handballs, but they were struggling to find a way through.
Then, somehow, there was a spot-kick amid a scramble in the area, with Diarra and Gomis both down.
Panayiotou kept his cool and stepped up to send Trueman the wrong way and the away fans into raptures they thought would never come.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here