Moors were forced to settle for a point as they battled to a goalless draw against Curzon Ashton at The Brewery Field in National League North on Saturday.
A scrappy and hard-fought affair never looked likely to produce a glut of goals and chances were at a premium as the two teams were unable to find a decisive moment.
Graeme Lee’s men started the encounter on the front foot and could have been in front inside five minutes when Isaac Fletcher slipped Tom Allan through on goal, but the loan man’s right-footed prod was excellently saved by visiting keeper Bobby Jones.
Allan was bright during the opening stages and saw another effort deflected wide following good work from Rob Ramshaw who broke from midfield to set up the opportunity.
Fletcher then drove forward into the Curzon Ashton box and the visiting defenders worried about Junior Mondal to the left and Allan to the right, it opened up for Moors’ top scorer only for him to blaze his effort over the bar.
Brad James had to be alert as half time approached when some neat football from The Nash sent Stefan Mols through on the left side of the area, but the Moors keeper stood tall to block.
James was called into action early in the second half too when he got down smartly to his left to deny Devon Matthews who had ghosted into the area to drill a shot on goal.
The Moors keeper showed his agility once again on 78 minutes when he flung himself high to his right to turn around Mols’ free-kick which was heading for the top corner.
Ramshaw could have had the final say again when he engineered some space for himself on the edge of the box in the final minute, but he drove his shot off target.
Full Time: Moors 0 Curzon Ashton 0
Moors: James, Dyson, Ledger, Beals, Staunton, Ross, Dolan, Allan (McKeown 68), Ramshaw, Fletcher (Hooper 75), Mondal.
Subs not used: Johnson, Luck, McGinley.
Booked: Ross (26), Mondal (68), Ramshaw (90)
Curzon Ashton: Jones, Richards, Poscha, Matthews, Hayhurst, Barton, Mahon (Afuye 75), Buckley-Ricketts, Sinclair, Mols, Spencer (Lacey 20).
Subs not used: Sobowale, Tetlow, Worrall.
Booked: Hayhurst (90)
Referee: Ben Tomlinson
Attendance: 1,198
