EMCL: Radcliffe Olympic 0 Holwell Sports 0

A dour affair, marred by a very strong wind and a bobbly pitch, saw Radcliffe's four game winning streak come to an end although they are still unbeaten in five. Neither team really deserved to win and in the end a point was a fair result.

With it being a Bank Holiday weekend Olympic were shorn of a few players and had to make number of changes. As a consequence the shape of the team wasn't as it has been over the last number of weeks and this probably contributed to a rather lacklustre performance. Holwell were quickest out of the blocks and could have taken the lead in the 2nd minute. A good cross from the left picked out their centre forward, unmarked and 8 yards out, but he somehow directed his header wide of the post. The fossilized form of ageing stopper Rocky Bennett was probably grateful his creaking bones weren't called into action as he takes a little time to loosen up these days.

Both sides worked hard but there was no real quality on display and chances were few and far between. One decent bit of football from the home side saw Ian Marley drive inches wide from 18 yards after a good set up by Liam Motson. Radcliffe had the better of the territory in the first half as they benefited from a stiff breeze at their backs. Their best chance of the half came after a free kick was awarded on the edge of the box following a long punt from Bennett. Up stepped Axl Rose lookalike Ryan Perkins but his freekick rebounded off the crossbar and Nick Eatough's follow up was brilliantly blocked by a defender who injured himself in the process.

Half Time: 0-0

Olympic were kicking into the wind in the second period and as expected it was Holwell who had the territory. However, as Olympic had done in the first half, they overhit most of their balls forward and the wind did the rest. The home side were content to sit a bit deeper and both centre halfs, Liam Smallwood and Wesley Spencer, never really missed a header. Radcliffe's usual ability to counter was missing and the forwards generally cut forlorn figures at the lack of service they received. Holwell narrowly missed in the 67th minute as a freekick from 35 yards was picked up by the wind but it didn't quite dip enough and just cleared the bar and Rocky Bennett made one low save from a mishit shot. Radcliffe pushed Jake Morris up the pitch and gave a debut to Luke Johnson as they tried to inject a bit of life into their attack and indeed Morris made difference. A couple of times he worked the keeper with cross come shots but there wasn't anything with any real conviction. Again, the home sides best chance came from a freekick, with just three minutes remaining. This time it was Jan Yeomans whose freekick hit the woodwork but had it gone in Holwell would have felt pretty hard done by and both sides settled for a point apiece.

Full Time: 0-0

Team: Bennett, Durham, Spencer, Smallwood, J Morris, Marley, Eatough (Towers), Perkins, Grant (Johnson), Yeomans, Motson (Brindley).

Sub (not used): Dunn.