THE cash might have run dry at Wanderers but there are still some signs of life in their fight for survival.

You feared the worst when John Swift arrowed in a 10th minute opener for Brentford on a day when so much had gone wrong at the Macron Stadium.

This had been the day that the club had been forced to admit it couldn’t pay its players – the moment a financial melodrama became a meltdown.

But carried by an incredible show of support from the home fans, who once again provided the kind of backing that a team in such dire straits can only dream of, Wanderers corrected their course and just about ground out a point.

Neil Danns grabbed the all-important equaliser and though the Whites lacked the composure to turn one point into three, riding their luck towards the end, they did at least give those long-suffering supporters something to cling on to.

The importance of the game was illustrated by the tempo Wanderers set early on and when Max Clayton nearly raced on to a short back-pass from James Tarkowski, the omens looked okay.

But how often have we been lulled into a false sense of security this season? Barely 10 minutes in, Alan Judge picked out John Swift on the edge of the box and he shifted the ball on to his right foot to curl a beautiful effort into the bottom corner.

Wanderers’ defence had been slow to close the on-loan Chelsea youngster down but it was exactly the kind of kick in the pants they could have done without.

To the fans’ immense credit they quickly rallied to prevent players’ heads from dropping. They responded in kind, Shola Ameobi and Jose Manuel Casado went close from distance and Liam Feeney got his angles wrong after running on to Max Clayton’s flick as he tried to catch the Brentford keeper off his line.

The home fans sang on defiantly but as the half wore on, the nerves became more and more evident around the stadium.

Brentford nearly grabbed a well-worked second when full-back Jake Bidwell’s cross was only parried by Amos, who was thankful to see Dervite mopping up the danger behind him.

Bidwell then picked out Lasse Vibe for an even better chance to double the lead, the Dane racing into the penalty box after beating the offside trap only for his shot to cannon back off the legs of Amos.

Un-noticed at the time, Clayton had gone down off the ball and was now lying prostrate just inside the Bees’ half. The youngster, only recently back from a long-term knee injury, had to be helped off the pitch by two medical staff in clear distress.

Wanderers’ woes weren’t over either and Amos had to be alert to push over a bouncing volley from Swift that would have put the game out of sight.

After a long spell with 10 men, Gary Madine finally replaced Clayton, by now back in the dressing room having treatment. The Whites went more direct and had a half-shout for a penalty when Ryan Woods bundled into Pratley from behind.

At the other end Brentford thought they had a decent case when Bidwell went sprawling under a challenge from Vela but this time referee Carl Boyeson chose to book him for diving.

Ex-Everton defender Bidwell was causing all sorts of problems for Vela and escaped his attentions again just after the restart to steer a swinging cross from Judge just wide of the post.

Brentford looked to hit on the break but thankfully their football was, at best, a little indecisive.

It was enough to keep the Whites hemmed in, however, and with the orthodox 4-4-2 system showing no signs of working the seconds started to drain away with worrying speed.

Then, just as Swift’s strike had done in the first half, the equaliser came when you least expected it.

Ryan Woods half-cleared a cross to the edge of the box where Neil Danns, once a regular supplier of the spectacular, crashed a bouncing volley past Button.

It was Wanderers’ first goal from open play in eight hours of football and lit the touch-paper on a thrilling finale.

Button made a point blank save from Ameobi before Nico Yennaris headed Casado’s cross-shot from under his own crossbar.

Amos got lucky with 10 minutes to go as he scuffed Casado’s back-pass straight at Vibe, only to have it deflect straight back at him.

But he made amends completely before the end with a brilliant one-handed save to push away Vibe’s powerful effort, after yet more slack marking on the edge of the area.

Panic stations continued towards the end where Dorian Dervite blocked a goal-bound shot from sub Konstantin Kerschbaumer and then nearly grabbed a winner himself at the other end in a goalmouth scramble.

A draw does the bare minimum for the Whites in terms of the league table, where they are still four points adrift of safety – but perhaps the fact players responded in such a manner says they are not completely ready to roll over and die just yet?

WANDERERS (4-4-2)

BEN AMOS...8

JOSH VELA...5.5

DAVID WHEATER...6.5

DORIAN DERVITE...5

JOSE MANUEL CASADO...7.5

LIAM FEENEY...6

NEIL DANNS...6.5

MARK DAVIES...6.5

DARREN PRATLEY...5.5

MAX CLAYTON...6

SHOLA AMEOBI...5.5

Subs: Madine 5, 39 (for Clayton), Dobbie 89 (for Davies) Not used: Rachubka, Prince, Spearing, Twardzik, Holding.

Brentford: Button; Yennaris, O’Connell, McCormack, Bidwell; Diagouraga, Tarkowski, Woods; Vibe, Swift, Judge.

Subs: Canos 68 (for Woods), Kerschbaumer 74 (for Swift), Saunders 81 (for Judge) Not used: Bonham, Hofmann, Gorgia, Barbet.

Referee: Carl Boyeson (East Yorkshire) Attendance: 12,731