Causeway United 0-0 Boldmere St. Michaels
Boldmere steadied the ship after Saturday's defeat at Biddulph, but were unable to breach the defence of a Causeway team that seemed more than happy with the draw throughout.
The home side threatened first, with veteran defender Morgan Brookes failing to trouble Adam Jenkins with two early headers from corners.
The Mikes began to settle, enjoying the majority of possession without carving out any real opportunities. They again looked a threat from set pieces, but the home keeper handled most things comfortably. The closest either side came to a goal was run and shot from from Ricky Baker which bounced just wide of the post.
The half drifted into midfield stalemate and ended goalless.
The pattern continued after the break, with goalmouth action at a premium. Causeway were happy to maintain a deep back four, with little seen of them as an attacking force.
Midway through the half, the Mikes started to turn the screw. Baker reached the by line and cut a ball back that just evaded the waiting Danny Dubidat. The final ball was letting the Mikes down, as two free kicks in quick succession in dangerous positions came to nothing.
The Mikes came very close to taking the lead when Lyndon Weller skinned his marker and floated a delightful ball to the far post. Ricky Baker met the cross with a textbook downward header, which the keeper scrambled away with his feet. Baker thought it was over the line, but in the absence of goalline technology play went on.
Causeway eventually threatened the goal, and could have won the game in the last 7 minutes. A free kick from the corner of the 18 yard are thudded agaianst the bar with Jenkins beaten. A minute later, Boldmere breathed a collective sigh of relief as a free header from a cross from the right was directed wide.
As on Saturday, the contest ended in a flurry of yellow cards. Unfortunately, the last of these was Danny Dubidat's second of the game. In the context of the rest of the contest, the rush of yellow cards in the last 15 minutes seemed somewhat harsh.
Overall, this seemed like a missed opportunity against a team who showed little belief that they could win the game until the last few minutes. However, their back line was well organised and resolute, and both defences and goalkeepers probably deserved a clean sheet as they were the dominant factor in the game.
Boldmere: Adam Jenkins; Adam Swain; Matt Jackson; Aaron Hamilton; Adam Wood; Kirk Smith; Lyndon Weller; Stuart McNaught; Danny Dubidat; Simeon Tulloch; Ricky Baker.
Subs: Anthony Juxon (McNaught); Andy Lewis; Tom Stevenson; Jason Holmes; Sean Butler.
