Long Eaton United and Basford United played out an action-packed goalless draw on an overcast afternoon at Grange Park.

Both teams had their moments and both hit the woodwork in the second half, whilst The Blues missed the target from a guilt-edged chance with the final kick of the game, as both sides had to settle for a point.

The Blues, under-pressure following their recent dismal showings at Grantham Town and Rugby Borough, and sitting rock bottom of the table with 0 points from 4 matches, made just a couple of changes from that midweek defeat at Rugby. In came Courtney 'CJ' Nyakuhaw and the experienced Jamie Hanson, with Gorge Atwal and Luke Williamson dropping to the bench. Recent signing Kieran Francis was once again named amongst a 5-strong substitutes bench.

Basford included former Blues pair Owen Betts and Tristan Thompson-Matthews in their starting 11, whilst another former Blue, Brad Wilson was amongst the visitors substitutes.

The game kicked off a few minutes late, after a small fracas in the tunnel before the sides came out - the referee, making sure tempers were calmed down, took his time before eventually getting the game underway.

Long Eaton began the game with a purpose around their play not seen in recent weeks, and tried to make inroads into the Basford defence.

On 7 minutes, Basford were forced into an early change when Jack Goodman was replaced by Tyreace Palmer. This stoppage became the first of many in a game in which both physios were required on several occasions during the afternoon.

Jamie Hanson may have been slightly fortunate to escape with just a caution on 15 minutes following a late tackle on Sandhu - This certainly sparked the game into action, with several players involved in pushing and shoving in the middle of the pitch.

Once order was restored, The Blues began to push forward, playing the brand of football we have all become used to seeing at Grange Park over the past 3 years, with sweeping moves from one side of the pitch to the other. These such moves almost bought us an opening goal, with Garnett coming close to breaking the deadlock from close range on both occasions.

With Long Eaton pushing forward, being hit on the counterattack is always on the cards, and Lewis King thwarted one such break, saving low down inside the penalty area.

On 32 minutes, it was Long Eaton's turn to be forced into a change and our own number 9, Evan Garnett, who had already received some treatment, worryingly hobbled off the field, and was replaced by Kieran Francis for his home debut.

A few minutes later, a foul just outside the Long Eaton area, presented Thompson-Matthews with an opportunity to score on his Grange Park return, but Lewis King was equal to his free-kick.

The excellent James Taylor, who worked tirelessly throughout, had a header saved a few minutes before the break , then King made a smart save at the other end.

With 6 minutes of stoppage time added, there was yet more time for injuries, with Nyle Blake the latest Basford player to have to leave the field through injury.

Long Eaton finished the half strongly, but couldn't find a way through the Basford defence, and after just over 8 minutes of injury time, the half came to an end.

The cut and thrust nature of the match continued after the break, with both sides looking to stamp their authority on proceedings, and the first 10 minutes or so became a duel in midfield.

Basford were than handed a big chance on 57 minutes, when Nyakuhwa lost possession of the ball inside his own area, and he would have been relieved to see the ball canon back off the crossbar, with Lewis King well beaten on this occasion. A let-off for The Blues, though this chance was certainly self-inflicted.

A few minutes later, Callum Cocks was booked for a foul which halted a quick Basford counter-attack, but Long Eaton then had a chance which flashed right across the face of goal - perhaps waiting for an Evan Garnett tap-in to come!

Davidson-Miller then came close, just failing to connect to a header from close range as Long Eaton began to dominate the final quarter of the game.

On 75 minutes, the excellent Jamie Hanson was replaced by Connor Pace, and the midfielder came within inches of his first goal in almost a year-and-a-half, 5 minutes later, when his thunderous curling effort cannoned back off the crossbar.

With just under 10 minutes remaining, Nyakuhwa limped off injured and was replaced by George Atwal, who himself had an effort shortly afterwards, just flashing wide of the left hand post, as Long Eaton continued to press for a winner.

Basford did force a couple of late corners to keep The Blues on their toes, and with the game drawing to a close, it seemed that that elusive goal would not come for either team, however, deep into stoppage time Long Eaton had a great chance to clinch it following a great move down the left. Davidson-Miller and Pace combined to present Durose with a clear strike from around the penalty spot, but with the midfielder just leaning back, his drilled effort missed the target. There would be no time to even retrieve the ball, as the referee blew his whistle and signalled the end of the game. Several Basford defenders sunk to the floor, underlining the efforts they had made in the last 20 minutes to stay in the game, but it would end goalless, as Long Eaton put a point on the board at the 5th time of asking.

LONG EATON UNITED 0 BASFOR UNITED 0

Blues line-up; King(C) - Nyakuhwa (Atwal 81), Eden, Cotterill, Bucci - Cocks, Hanson (Pace 75), Davidson-Miller, Taylor, Durose - Garnett (Francis 32)
Bookings: Hanson 15 (foul), Cocks 62 (foul)
Attendance: 231