Tamworth 0, Bradford Park Avenue 0

FOR A second Saturday on the trot, Bradford Park Avenue held one of the top teams in Vanarama National League North to a goalless draw but the point they earned was not enough to lift them out of the drop zone.

The draw did hosts Tamworth no favours either as they dropped a place to fifth after their seventh stalemate of the season.

The Lambs are now seven points behind leaders Solihull Moors, who got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory at Curzon Ashton.

Avenue had ten men for 80 minutes when they held Solihull to a 0-0 draw a week before taking on Tamworth.

Their heroics in both those games are put in perspective by the fact that the Moors and Tamworth remain the only two unbeaten clubs in the division.

It was a tight game at the Lamb Ground with limited openings, although both sides were denied by the woodwork in the first half.

Tamworth were first to find the frame of the goal as a Shane Clarke effort hit the top of the bar after Ross Dyer had headed on a through-ball.

Avenue striker Chib Chilaka rattled the woodwork minutes later when his header to a Craig King cross hit a post.

Visiting skipper Simon Ainge had been denied by home keeper James Belshaw between those attempts and it was the stopper who went on to be named man of the match.

Belshaw denied Richard Marshall later in the first half and Jason St Juste after the break when Avenue's attacking midfielder only had the keeper to beat and looked nailed on to score.

Avenue had a penalty appeal turned down but Tamworth had their moments, with Tom Burgin having to clear off the line early in the second half and Bradford keeper Jon Stewart having to make two sharp saves in stoppage time.

Horsfall manager Martin Drury said: "It looks like a good result on paper but I thought we dominated, so I'm gutted to only take a point really. But there were plenty of positives."