Grays Athletic 0, Stowmarket Town 0

GRAYS' record against Stowmarket over the past couple of years has been somewhat dismal, but with both sides keen to stay in the promotion race after recent reversals, this was always going to be a close encounter.

Stowmarket started the game well, but in a sign of things to come, their possession and pressure couldn't be matched by a clinical finish. And indeed, it was Grays who nearly opened the scoring in the 12th minute, when Courtney Homans found himself in space inside the penalty box , but his fierce shot was tipped over the bar by visiting keeper, James Bradbrook, who was to put in a man of the match performance across the afternoon.

Bradbrook was then tested again from a full 40 yards out by Callum Leahy. His shot cleared the heads of all those in front of him, but the keeper was alert to the danger. For the visitors, Ed Upson was pulling the strings in midfield and wide man Kane Munday was a persistent danger. The Blues defensive line was though well-marshalled throughout by Lewis Clark and the Stowmarket forwards were caught offside on a number of occasions, when their advance looked ominous. Leahy also produced a goal-saving tackle just before the half-hour mark, when Jack Ainsley looked likely to score. Sam Bantick then put a 25-yard free kick just wide of the post, with the keeper beaten.

But Bradbrook soon turned on more heroics, with an outrageous close-range triple save from Roman Campbell and Malaki Toussaint, the last two stops whilst he was prone on the floor. The ball would not fall for Grays. Just before the break, even the visitors' defence did their best to help the Blues, when Josh Curry almost bullet headed a clearance into the net.

The second half was almost a mirror image of the first. Stowmarket enjoying good spells of possession but unable to make it count, and Blues looking dangerous in between.

There were alarm bells for Grays, when Leahy left a header back to his keeper woefully short. Ainsley intercepted and lobbed Danny Sambridge but he could only watch as the ball drifted wide. Sambridge was also called on to keep out a long range free kick from Chris Casement, but he should have been made to work harder.

It was then time for Bradbrook to steal the show again with another double save, this time from Blues debutant, Marlon Agyakwa. The home fans were left wondering what more their team needed to do to break the deadlock.

The final quarter of the game was a litany of half-chances at both ends of the pitch, far too many to record here. But in truth, neither keeper would have been unduly worried. However, in the dying seconds of the game, Upson grazed the outside of a post for the visitors and Callum Watts for Blues let fly one of his long-range specials, which the home players were convinced hit a defender's arm in the box on the way through. But referee Mr Connell thought otherwise, even after consultation with his assistant.

Some 0-0 draws are dire affairs, others far less so, and this was definitely one of the better ones. Both sides gave everything in an attempt to find a breakthrough but it just wasn't to be and the points were rightly shared.