ANDY BOOTH powered home a signature header to earn just reward for Town's never-say-die effort.

Only five minutes remained when the Galpharm legend climbed high to meet Gary Taylor-Fletcher's right-wing cross and wipe out Matt Sparrow's scrambled 55th-minute effort for Scunthorpe.

A second successive home defeat had looked on the cards until Booth - who played up front alone in a 4-1-4-1 formation- grabbed his fourth of the season to spark a furious late bout of end-to-end madness.

Either team could have won as Mark Hudson, substitute Luke Beckett and wideman Danny Schofield were all denied by excellent keeper Joe Murphy while, at the other end, Billy Sharp - who hit the bar first half - Andy Keogh and Cleveland Taylor all went close to a winner for Scunthorpe.

If it was to be Brian Laws' last match in charge then he could be proud, because they stretched Town's resolve to the limit in front of 10,456 frozen souls.

Just over 9,000 of those were from Huddersfield and congratulations to the drummer and his mates in the Antich Stand who never let the atmosphere drop, even when Town's best efforts looked like failing.

No-one did more for the Town cause than skipper Jon Worthington, whose brilliant tackling back was never better illustrated than in the second minute of stoppage time when he tracked Keogh into a goal-saving challenge near the edge of the box.

He was injured in the process and, seconds later, he rightly received a standing ovation as he hobbled to the dugout for treatment to his bloodied limbs

Playing just in front of the back four, Worthington won the ball time and again, never wilting in the face of some aggressive Scunthorpe tackling and inspiring a side showing six changes into the sort of performance which manager Peter Jackson knew was essential.

It wasn't the greatest display by any means, but Town were much tighter than in the shambles against Brighton, allied concentration and application to the physical effort and at times played some neat stuff in front of the excellent central partnership of Martin McIntosh and the returning Nathan Clarke.

Dropped for the first time in his career in the previous two matches, Clarke returned to remind everyone of his quality and was the ideal mentor for 17-year-old debutant Joe Skarz, who had the unenviable task of marking fleet-footed Cleveland Taylor in the absence of suspended Danny Adams.

Skarz, who played two smashing crossfield passes and wasn't afraid to get forward, stuck to his guns admirably despite some slick wing skills from Taylor late in the game which led to a series of dangerous crosses.

Young Skarz will remember the experience for a long, long time as the latest Academy product to make the senior starting line-up - and he'll be aiming to put it to good use tomorrow night when he plays for the Under 18s in their FA Youth Cup first-round tie against Grimsby at Blundell Park (7.30).

As for the seniors, it's to be hoped Booth's leveller gives them a real lift for their own Cup battle to come.

Turning Point:

Andy Booth's fantastic header just five minutes from time which rescued Town from a second successive home defeat and sends them into next weekend's FA Cup-tie against Blackpool in a positive frame of mind. Booth led the line on his own in a 4-1-4-1 line-up and even Brian Laws acknowledged there's no better header of a ball

How they rated:

Matt Glennon Had some luck when Sharp's header hit the bar. Decent work, but his drop near the end could have been costly Rating: 6/10

Andy Holdsworth Steady return to senior action for the regular right back and covered the centre-backs well on a couple of occasions. Rating: 6/10

Joe Skarz Could not have had a much tougher debut against flier Taylor but stuck to the task well. Made some fine passes Rating: 6/10

Martin McIntosh Blocked a Sharp shot and cleared from Taylor when a goal seemed certain to set a solid standard at the back Rating: 7/10

Nathan Clarke Back after two matches dropped and hardly put a foot wrong against two very lively strikers in Sharp and Keogh Rating: 7/10

Gary T-Fletcher First start in a month and, while he had few chances to score, he supplied a top cross for Booth's equaliser Rating: 6/10

Jon Worthington Received a standing ovation when he went off injured and rightly so after a terrific show of fearless midfield grafting Rating: 8/10

Mark Hudson Denied by the keeper's foot when darting through, he made some decent breaks. Played better in the first half Rating: 6/10

Michael Collins Fantastic jinking run almost led to a goal and he continued to look for openings. Had two stitches in an eye gash Rating: 6/10

Andy Booth Powerful header just five minutes from time earned Town a battling point after he led the line alone for 66 mins Rating: 7/10

Danny Schofield Skied an early chance and denied by a fine save just eight minutes from time. Jinked into trouble a bit too often Rating: 6/10

Spotlight on the ref:

Andy D'Urso made a couple of ridiculous advantage decisions, dragging play back when Town seemed in decent scoring positions. He also incurred the wrath of the Town fans when awarding a foul against Andy Booth when defender Steve Foster clearly had both arms wrapped around Booth's throat to prevent him going for the ball

Scunthorpe: Murphy, Crosby, Hinds, Sparrow, Baraclough, Foster, Taylor, Keogh, Williams, Sharp, Morris. Subs not used: Mulligan, Byrne, Goodwin, McBreen, Lillis (goalkeeper, son of Mark).