Boss Curle focusing on the positives as Cobblers are held to a draw at Leyton Orient

Wharton appeared to be shoved in the back as a cross struck his arm inside the penalty box with just six minutes to play, but referee Alan Young ignored Town's furious protests and pointed to the spot.

Josh Wright converted to cancel out Ryan Watson's first-half goal and just to make matters worse, Wharton was sent off for his part in a mass brawl as Orient's players celebrated the goal.

James Dayton also saw red for the home side.

Naturally, Curle was asked about the two incidents during his post-match interview but he would not be drawn on either.

"I don't mean to be evasive but I don't really want to talk about the penalty, the sending off or the officials because that can detract from some of the good things we've done tonight," he said.

"We'll let the dust settle and we'll review it, but the one thing I've learned from the amount of games I've had as a manager and a coach, no matter what I say after the game, I can't change the result.

"The important thing for us is to focus on the performance, individually and collectively, because there are areas we can improve on but we're still on an upward curve.

"I don't want tonight's point gained to be about referees or decisions or anything like that.

"We put in a good performance away from home and we've gained a point."