Grays Athletic 1, Mildenhall 1

SATURDAY (28 December) brought a day of frustration for Grays fans who were disappointed with their own side's poor performance, critical of the refereeing and thwarted by visitors who spent much of the latter half of an instantly forgettable match timewasting.

Both sides went into the Isthmian North clash on the back of discouraging results, most notably for Grays the Boxing Day defeat by Tilbury, and the mood among home supporters wasn't improved much after it.

Mildenhall fans were probably pleased with the draw which leaves them three places above the drop zone - while Grays have slipped to tenth, nine points off the promotion play-off places. Just a couple of weeks ago they were right in that mix, but the end of the year has seen a slump in form.

And the disappointment was compounded as Grays couldn't make the most of having an extra man for the last 20 minutes after Mildenhall's Alfie Connor got a straight red card.

There was little notable action in a dour first half, with its only significant moment being an opening goal from the visitors, delivered by Samuel Adetiba on 34 minutes.

Most of the 230 spectators would have already put the opening stanza to the back of their minds, hoping for better things when the second half began and on 58 minutes home hopes were raised when Luke Hirst netted to restore parity.

However, that was to be as good as it got as Mildenhall shut up shop and sought every opportunity to kill time - particularly after Connor departed. Some contentious refereeing decisions didn't lift home spirits either.

Now Grays' thoughts turn to the New Year's Day home derby against Basildon United, kick-off at the EMR Stadium being 3pm.