Chorley 0, Brackley Town 0: Magpies’ wait for win at Victory Park continues

But manager Andy Preece was by no means disappointed with his team’s performance.

He said: “Brackley showed us a lot of respect in coming here and playing the way they did. It looked like they were happy to take a point.”

This tight, keenly-contested game, so typical of meetings between these two teams, was a slow-burner, only really catching fire after the interval.

Brackley will indeed be the happier of the two sides with a point, as it was essentially a resolute, disciplined rear guard action which denied the more dangerous Magpies three points.

The visitors defended their penalty area solidly, getting bodies in the way of several goal-bound attempts in a livelier second half.

Two moments in that second period crucially kept Brackley in the game.

Skipper Gareth Dean’s bold last-ditch tackle denied Connor Hall when clean through on goal and inside the box and then Danny Lewis pulled off a breath-taking flying save to keep out a trademark craftily-placed Adam Blakeman free-kick.

As the Magpies kept up the pressure, Scott Leather was only just off-target with a volleyed cross-shot.

Brackley’s attempts on goal were rare throughout but they might have snatched an unlikely victory late on when Wes York’s header just cleared the bar.

In a largely featureless first half of few scoring chances for either side, the visitors had enjoyed a greater share of possession without seriously testing Matt Urwin in the home goal.

For Chorley Jack Sampson was very close with a cracking drive from 30 yards which flew just past the upright and Brackley’s clearest sight of the home goal proved unproductive as Cosmos Matwasa pulled his shot well wide.

Although frustrated here, Chorley are now unbeaten in six games and will on another day play less well and win.

CHORLEY : Urwin, Challoner, Wilson, Leather, Blakeman, Whitehouse, Calveley, Tomlinson (Nolan 76), Sampson, Hall, Ustabasi (Shenton 79). Unused subs. Henley, Johnson, Owens.

Att. 834.