WITTON Albion had to settle for a point following a tepid tie with Belper that failed to produce a goal.

The teams were evenly-matched, which will be more of a worry for the hosts considering their struggling guests had failed to win any of their previous 14 league fixtures.

Worse still, the Northwich club is the only one in the Premier Division that has failed to score against the Nailers in two meetings this season.

No wonder Tony Sullivan said afterwards it felt like his side had lost.

However they did not, extending a sequence without losing to six matches in all competitions and – because of results elsewhere – edging a point further from the relegation zone.

The ball spent too long in the air, though a bumpy, barren pitch and a swirling wind did little to persuade players there was a better alternative.

A difficult playing surface, plus physically superior opponents, left Witton looking a different side from the one that swatted aside Stourbridge during a promising first-half performance in midweek.

They exerted greater pressure on Belper’s defence than was applied to theirs, but not enough to make the table’s back-markers nervous they might concede.

Alex Titchiner was closer than anybody to being decisive, shooting with power against the inside of a post after striker partner Jamie Rainford rolled the ball into his path at the end of a counter-attack on 35 minutes.

It was a lucky escape for the visitors and, given the scarcity of chances for the game’s remainder, an opportunity Albion will regret not making the most of.

They did not force Dan Haystead dirty his gloves again until the 79th minute, when the Belper goalkeeper stretched fully to steer Danny Andrews’ free kick – struck with swerve from 25 yards – to safety.

In between they too often circulated the ball slowly, allowing the away team to deconstruct their attacks with relative ease.

Liam Goulding could not direct a header accurately when he met Luke Clark’s free kick early in the second half, and Rainford was unable react quickly enough when the ball was diverted at speed towards him inside the six-yard box shortly afterwards.

Belper’s few bright moments were all in the opening period.

Front man Nabil Shariff headed too high from Scott Matthews’ free kick, while Michael Towey skewed off-target when he had a glimpse of goal five minutes before the break.

His pass, incisive and timed perfectly, to Matthews was more accurate but the wide man dragged his attempt wide of the far upright.

The longer the game went on, it was obvious a single flash of quality or a stroke of good fortune would be all that was required to pinch maximum points.

Sullivan sent on Lucas Molina to add aerial strength to Albion’s front-line but even his presence, while unsettling for Belper’s previously under-occupied defenders, did not produce a clearcut chance to score.

“It’s an opportunity missed,” said the Witton manager afterwards.

“If we’re honest, neither side deserved to win in the end.”

Witton (3-5-2) Robertson (GK), Barnes, Goulding, John Shaw, Joe Shaw (Roddan 87), Schofield, Clark (Parker 74), Andrews, Dawson, Rainford (Molina 72), Titchiner Subs not used Swift (GK), Simpson

Belper (3-5-2) Haystead (GK), Lister, Varley, Miller, Turner, Warne, Ross, Towey, Matthews (Potts 59), Shariff, Froggatt (Stevenson 68) Sub not used Grimes Booked Lister, Varley (both fouls)

Referee Martyn Rawcliffe

Attendance 296